BLS DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2000
__Coming down from what generally were regarded as weather-related gains,
the U.S. labor market slowed its pace of job growth as nonfarm payrolls
added a scant 43,000 employees in February, according to BLS. Unusually
large increases in construction payrolls in January were reversed in
February, as was the case in other sectors that showed wide weather-related
swings between the two months. Many service industries posted sluggish
growth in February, while manufacturing payrolls expanded somewhat. ...
Given the weather factors, most analysts said the latest jobs report does
not signal the long-awaited slowdown in the vigorous national economy that
grew by nearly a 7 percent annual rate in the final quarter of 1999. To the
contrary, recent reports of strong retail and housing sectors point to a
robust first-quarter pace that could approach 5 percent of expected real
gross domestic product, some analysts said. The nation's civilian
unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage point to 4.1 percent seasonally
adjusted in February, a change that BLS considers too small to be
statistically significant. (The rate must move by at least 0.2 percentage
point to be regarded as significant.) The jobless rate has been below 4.2
percent since last October. ... "The average monthly gain for the two
months (214,000) is about in line with the monthly average for 1999
(226,000)," BLS Commissioner Katharine Abraham told the Joint Economic
Committee in her March 3 testimony. ... (Pam Ginsbach in Daily Labor
Report, page D-1).
__The nation's unemployment rate inched up last month while payrolls saw
their smallest monthly increase since last May. The addition of 43,000
payroll jobs was far below analysts' expectations, though they were hesitant
to say it was a sign the U.S. economy's torrid growth is slowing. ... Labor
Secretary Alexis Herman noted in a statement that the share of the American
population aged 16 and over with a job remained at 64.8 percent, the highest
in history. ... (John M. Berry in Washington Post, March 4, page E1).
__U.S. economic data showed some signs of weakening, but a slowdown doesn't
appear to have begun...... The Dow Jones industrials surged Friday on news
of soft February employment numbers, recouping all the previous week's
losses and more. ... Job growth plunged in February, unemployment inched
up, and wage growth was muted. New orders to U.S. factories, meanwhile,
fell a bigger-than-expected 1.1 percent in January, the sharpest decline
since April, the Commerce Department said. ... (Yochi J. Dreazen in Wall
Street Journal, page A2).
The nonmanufacturing sector grew strongly in February, and more businesses
reported paying higher prices for supplies than one month earlier, according
to a National Association of Purchasing Management report. Nonmanufacturing
payrolls, however, stagnated during February, the survey found. Conversely,
manufacturing gained workers in the month. ... New orders also increased at
a faster pace in February, as did prices. ... (Daily Labor Report, page
A-6).
Home prices continue to surge in some areas -- particularly New York,
Washington, Boston, and parts of California, Florida, and the Midwest --
despite an increase in mortgage rates. ... (Wall Street Journal, page A2).
DUE OUT TOMORROW: Productivity and Costs, Fourth Quarter and Annual
Averages, 1999 (r)
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