BLS DAILY REPORT, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1996 The average annual pay of workers in metropolitan areas rose 3.5 percent from 1994 to 1995, preliminary BLS data shows. In the nation's 311 metropolitan areas, the average annual pay was $29,105 in 1995, up from $28,125 in 1994. Average pay for the nation as a whole -- combining both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas -- was $27,845 in 1995. San Jose, Calif., topped the list of metropolitan areas with the highest average pay. Jacksonville, N.C., reported the lowest average annual pay level among metropolitan areas ....(Daily Labor Report, pages 2,D-1). There are about 250 million child laborers working in developing countries, about three times more than previous estimates, according to a new study. The International Labor Organization attributed the jump in child workers to more accurate survey methods and the inclusion of workers under 10 years old, as well as economic forces that are driving more employers to rely on children ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2). In an article, "Home Health Care Opens Door to Abuses," USA Today (Nov. 11, page 11B) says that Labor Department predicts home health care will have the largest job growth of any industry, 1994 to the year 2005 .... The Wall Street Journal's column "The Outlook" (Nov. 11, page A1) says firms cut health costs, but cover fewer workers ....Just five years ago, employers' health care costs were increasing at double-digit rates. Now they are barely increasing at all. Unpublished Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that, during the 12-month period ended in September, employers paid just seven-tenths of a percent more to buy health care for their workers ....An accompanying graph shows percentage change in private employers health costs vs. wages and salaries, quarterly data, 1985 to the present; source is BLS. Job cuts caused by mergers fell 33 percent to 37,530 during the first 10 months of this year compared with the same period in 1995, according to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. However, the trend reversed in October, when merger-driven layoffs rose 33 percent over last October (Washington Times, page B6). DUE OUT TOMORROW: Producer Price Indexes -- October 1996 Quality Changes for 1997 Model Vehicles