BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1997 Close to 10 million low-paid employees got a raise this year, with the increase in the federal minimum wage that took effect Sept. 1. For millions of other workers, their pay is regulated by state laws and regulations that vary widely in their approaches to hourly wages, tip credits, and subminimum training wages for young or unskilled workers. Five states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the federal level. Twenty-four have minimum wage rates that currently reflect the federal rate, and 14 states have lower state minimums than the federal. Seven states have no state minimum wage. Employers generally are required to pay the higher rate ....A special report with today's Daily Labor Report examines the state minimum wage laws, as well as the recent development of campaigns in some jurisdictions to establish "living wage" rates, which set a higher wage floor for employees of private-sector firms that perform work under contract with local governments .... New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits declined by a modest 2,000 to a total of 306,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Sept. 20, the Labor Department reports ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-1; New York Times, page C6). The help-wanted advertising index in August fell 3 percentage points to 84 percent of its 1987 base, but is still higher than a year ago, the Conference Board says ....(Daily Labor Report, page A-9). New orders for manufactured durable goods surged 2.7 percent in August, driven by a rebound in bookings for electronic equipment, data released by the Census Bureau show ....This is the third consecutive monthly increase for new durable goods orders ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-3; New York Times, page C6)_____Electrical equipment was up for the first time since May; most of the strength came in orders for electronic components such as circuit boards and semiconductors (Washington Post, page G8)_____After stripping out the big rise in electronics, orders slid 1.7 percent ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2). Sales of existing homes surged 3.3 percent in August to a record high, reported the National Association of Realtors. The data were released by the group a day ahead of schedule - after news of the strong figure leaked into financial markets, raising fears the U.S. economy was growing so quickly that the Federal Reserve would have to raise interest rates (Washington Post, page G8; Wall Street Journal, page A2).
