BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2000
RELEASED TODAY: The Employment Cost Index for December 1999 was 144.6 (June
1989=100), not seasonally adjusted, an increase of 3.4 percent from December
1998. The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures changes in compensation
costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee
benefits. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the 3-month increase in
compensation costs for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry plus state
and local government) was 1.1 percent during the September-December 1999
period, following a gain of 0.8 percent in June-September. Wages and
salaries increased 0.9 percent during the September-December period, the
same increase as in the previous quarter. Benefit costs rose 1.3 percent
during the December 1999 quarter, up from a 0.8 percent increase in the
September quarter. ...
The Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for
unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 last week, to 266,000. Even with the
small gain, the low level of claims indicates that employers are having
trouble finding workers to fill job openings. ... (New York Times, page
C21).
A leap in demand for airplanes and electronic equipment pushed up orders for
big-ticket goods by 4.1 percent in December, helping manufacturers to their
best year since 1997. For all of 1999, orders for durable goods -- items
expected to last at least three years -- rose 7.1 percent. The performance
matched the annual gain recorded two years ago and followed a 3.6 percent
increase in 1998, the Commerce Department said. ... The
bigger-than-expected 4.1 percent increase in durable-goods orders in
December was the best showing since July. ... In another report, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development said the home ownership rate hit
a record annual rate of 66.8 percent in 1999. Plentiful jobs, rising
incomes, stock market gains, and low inflation have put Americans in the
buying mood, economists said. In 1998, the rate was 66.3 percent. ... (New
York Times, page C21).
The U.S. homeownership rate reached a record 66.8 percent in 1999, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development said. A total of 70.1 million
households now own their own homes -- 1 million more than the record set in
1998 and 8.7 million more than in 1993. While the rate for white homeowners
(73.2 percent) was nearly double that for blacks (46.7 percent) and
Hispanics (45.5 percent), HUD said the numbers for minorities were also at
record highs and were growing twice as fast as the rate for whites. The
booming economy and low mortgage interest rates were cited as the main
factors in the growth, but HUD said federal housing initiatives also helped
low- and moderate-income families. ... (Washington Post, page E2).
DUE OUT MONDAY: Work Experience of the Population in 1998
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