BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1997
__In the month of April, when the national unemployment rate declined
to 4.9 percent, there were 29 states and the District of Columbia with
jobless rates at or below that level, according to data released by
BLS. Labor markets have improved to such an extent in most parts of
the country that in April four states recorded their lowest rates
since the data series began in 1978 ....Over the year ended in April,
not a single state showed an increase in its unemployment rate
....Rates are low by historical standards in every region, with job
growth in the larger states helping to bring the national rate down to
4.9 percent, said Lisa Williamson, a BLS economist who helps to
compile the state and local area data ....(Daily Labor Report, page
D-3).
__In a sign of how tight labor markets have become, a whopping 57
metropolitan areas posted unemployment rates below 3 percent in April,
up from 37 the month before, says The Wall Street Journal (page A2).
Big college towns reported the lowest unemployment, in a month when
the U.S. jobless rate dropped to a quarter-century low of 4.9 percent,
seasonally adjusted ....Areas with the highest unemployment rates
tended to be prime destinations for immigrants, who typically have a
tougher time finding jobs than do U.S.-born citizens ....
An upswing in demand for transportation equipment helped drive up new
orders for manufactured durable goods 1.4 percent in April, the Census
Bureau reports ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-1; Wall Street Journal,
page A2)_____The rise in durable goods orders was the third advance in
four months. Orders for all major categories except electronic and
other electrical equipment increased (Washington Post, page
E1)_____The increase occurred, in part, because of unexpectedly large
orders in transportation equipment by the Pentagon ....(New York
Times, page D1)
Consumer spending has been the driving force behind the U.S. economy
over the past year, but, ironically, American families haven't been
spending very much of the wealth generated by the soaring U.S. stock
market. In the past, when financial wealth increased rapidly, elated
consumers typically could be counted on to spend so much that the
nation's personal savings rate would fall ....For some
not-well-understood reason, consumers have boosted their spending much
less than expected in response to the 52 percent rise in the value of
their stock and mutual fund shares over the past two years. Consumer
spending hasn't gone up even as fast as disposable personal income, so
that the personal savings rate went up instead of down, as it did in
the past under similar conditions ....("Trendlines," Washington Post,
page E1).
