BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2000
A coalition whose members range from the AFL-CIO to temporary workers at
Microsoft Corp. prepares a public-relations and legislative push against
what they say is the poor pay and benefits treatment of part-time, contract,
and other non-full-time workers. ... The coalition will highlight
sympathetic temporary-work "victims" who are under-employed and struggling
to provide for themselves and their families in low-pay jobs providing no
benefits. Most short-term, contract, and other alternative workers want to
work that way, says the senior vice president of LPA, which represents large
employers. Government data show they make up 10 percent of the U.S. labor
force (Wall Street Journal, "Work Week," Jan. 25, page A1).
Consumer confidence rose to a record level so far in January, suggesting
that the economy's expansion will continue, the Conference Board said.
Abundant jobs, a rising stock market, and an uneventful change to the year
2000 helped drive the consumer confidence index to 144.7, its highest level
in 32 years. ... (New York Times, Jan. 26, page C16).
A record 5.2 million existing homes changed hands last year, the National
Association of Realtors said, despite higher interest rates and rising home
prices. The increase, from 4.97 million units in 1998, produced the fourth
consecutive record year for existing home sales. But, following the usual
pattern for the last month of the year, sales fell 1.4% in December to an
annual rate of 5.06 million units from 5.13 million in November. ... ( USA
TODAY, Jan. 26, page 1B).
Driven by the strong economy and the resulting flood of tax revenues, the
federal budget surplus will surge over the next decade to levels that would
have been inconceivable only a few years ago, the Congressional Budget
Office said. By one measure, the surplus outside of the Social Security
system for the next 10 years would total more than $1.9 trillion, nearly
twice as much as estimated by the budget office last year, the report said.
Using other assumptions that provide for higher spending levels, the 10-year
surplus projections outside of Social Security would range from $838 billion
to more than $1.8 trillion. The surplus in the Social Security system,
which is projected to turn into a deep deficit within 20 years as the baby
boom generation retires, was estimated by the budget office at $2.3 trillion
over 10 years. ... (New York Times, Jan. 26, page A1).
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan strongly urged Congress to use
burgeoning federal budget surpluses to pay down the national debt rather
than using the money to finance large new spending programs or big tax cuts.
In response to repeated questions on the issue from both Democrats and
Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, Greenspan said his "first
priority would be to allow as much of the surplus to flow through into a
reduction in debt to the public." "In my judgment, that would be, from an
economic point of view...that would be by far the best means of employing
it," he said. ... ( Washington Post, page E2)
The Social Security retirement age will increase for 150 million working
Americans beginning this month, the Social Security Administration said.
The increase in the full retirement age begins with individuals born in
1938, whose normal retirement age will be 65 years and 2 months. The age
increases in two-month increments for workers born between 1939 and 1943
until the retirement age reaches 66 and remains there for all workers born
through 1954. For those born after 1954, the retirement age begins to
increase again in two-month increments until it reaches age 67 for those
born in 1960 or later, the SSA said. The increase in the retirement age was
included in the Social Security Amendments of 1983 (Daily Labor Report, Jan.
25, page A-8).
DUE OUT TOMORROW: Employment Cost Index -- December 1999
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