BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, AUGUST 2, 2001:
>
> New claims for state unemployment insurance fell last week, the third
> sharp decline in a row, suggesting the rash of layoffs seen in recent
> months may be moderating a bit.  The number of workers filing new
> applications for jobless benefits declined by a seasonally adjusted 23,000
> to 346,000 for the week ending July 28 after dropping by 48,000 the week
> before, the Labor Department reports.  The decline in new claims last week
> pushed them to their lowest level since mid-February.  This time of year
> jobless claims figures are usually volatile as the automotive and textile
> industries temporarily lay off workers, making seasonal adjustment
> difficult, government analysts said.  Many economists are estimating the
> jobless rate hit 4.7 percent in July and that businesses eliminated
> another 38,000 jobs.  The government releases the employment report for
> July on Friday.  The biggest fear among some economists is that the labor
> market will seriously weaken, causing consumers to curtail their spending
> and tip the economy into recession (Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press,
> http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-jobless.story?coll=sns%2Dbusine
> ss%2Dheadlines; http://www.nypost.com/apstories/business/V5585.htm;
> http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2001-08-02-jobless-claims.htm).
>
> Nonfarm payrolls likely fell by 50,000 jobs in July, with a loss of 75,000
> in manufacturing.  June payrolls fell by 114,000, with 113,000 cuts coming
> in manufacturing.  The July unemployment rate probably hit 4.6 percent,
> with the average workweek holding at 34.3 hours (Business Week, August 6,
> page 89).
>
> Prospects for an economic rebound in the second half of the year dimmed
> further with reports that the contraction in manufacturing reached its
> one-year anniversary, while construction spending, a bulwark for the
> slowing economy, eroded in both May and June (the Wall Street Journal,
> page A2).
>
> Orders to U.S. factories fell in June, led by a big drop in demand for
> airplanes used by the military.  Demand for cars, computers and industrial
> machinery also slackened.  The Commerce Department reported that factory
> orders declined by a bigger-than-expected 2.4 percent.  That followed a
> revised 2.2 percent increase in May, weaker than the government previously
> estimated.  Manufacturers have been hardest hit by the economic slowdown
> that began last year.  To cope with flagging demand, companies have
> sharply cut production and capital investment and laid off thousands of
> workers (Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press,
> http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-economy.story?coll=sns%2Dbusine
> ss%2Dheadlines; http://www.nypost.com/apstories/V5682.htm;
> http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2001-08-02-factory-orders.htm).
>
> The slump in manufacturing extended its run in July to a year, but might
> be moving toward a rebound in coming months, the National Association of
> Purchasing Management's index suggests.  It dropped last month to 43.6
> from 44.7 in June.  A reading of less than 50 suggests contraction, and
> the 12-month stretch below that level is the longest since 1990-91, during
> the last recession.  A separate report from the Commerce Department showed
> that construction spending fell unexpectedly sharply in June.  Work slowed
> on schools, apartments, town houses and condominiums, outweighing an
> increase in construction of single family houses (Bloomberg News, The New
> York Times, page C4).
>
> The latest survey results released by the National Association of
> Purchasing Management show a manufacturing sector still in decline during
> July and sluggish growth continuing across the rest of the U.S. economy.
> NAPM's purchasing managers' index fell by 1.1 percentage points to 43.6
> percent in July from a reading of 44.7 percent in June (Daily Labor
> Report, page A2).
>
> DUE OUT TOMORROW:  The Employment Situation:  July 2001
>

<<application/ms-tnef>>