BLS DAILY REPORT, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1997
Higher job-related death rates and health insurance costs are creating
barriers to hiring older workers, despite widespread labor shortages.
Older workers are more than twice as likely as younger ones to die of
job-related causes, recent BLS studies show. The trend comes as the
number of older workers is rising and as aging baby boomers plan to
delay retirement ....More than 15 million people 55 or older held jobs
or were seeking employment in 1996, according to figures from BLS
....(USA Today, page 4B).
Overtime persists at near-record levels, and many workers are chafing.
Manufacturing overtime reached a record average 4.9 hours a week in
March and April, slipped, and climbed again -- to 4.8 hours in August,
the Labor Department says. Many companies want to avoid hiring that
could mean layoffs later. Others shun training costs ....("Work Week,"
Wall Street Journal, page A1).
Economic diversity propels New Jersey in a region stung by recession
....New Jersey has recovered all but 3 percent of the jobs lost in the
last recession, the first state in the New York region to reach that
....Charts attributed to BLS show the unemployment rate and payroll jobs
in the state (New York Times, page A1).
