[PEN-L:665] BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D]

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BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1998

The Department of Labor fares well with respect to funding levels for
two key Clinton initiatives - aid to disadvantaged youth and a
stepped-up move to combat international and domestic abuses of child
labor, says the Daily Labor Report (page A-8). ... The Bureau of Labor
Statistics is funded at the administration's request. ... The funding
covers a new jobs-opening survey initiative to measure labor shortages
in the U.S. labor market. ...   

U.S. employers laid off 235,996 workers in 1,862 mass layoff actions in
July, BLS says.  Both the number of mass-layoff events and the number of
people laid off were larger in July than in June. ... (Daily Labor
Report, page D-3).

New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits
rose for the third consecutive week, up 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted
total of 318,000 for the week ended Oct. 17, the Labor Department's
Employment and Training Administration reports. ... (Daily Labor Report,
page D-1)_____Overall, new claims have stayed relatively low at a level
economists said would be consistent with fairly strong payroll growth in
October. ... (New York Times, page C6)_____The number of Americans
seeking first-time unemployment benefits rose to a 3-month high last
week, prodding economists to wonder whether the numbers portend a wave
of layoffs.  The surge in claims was greater than most economists
expected, and "suggests a weak October payroll employment report," said
an economist with Merrill Lynch in New York. ... The labor market is
still tight, but many analysts believe that the recent claims increases
result from a slowing economy. ... (Wall Street Journal, page A2).
 
The global financial crisis, which a few weeks ago seemed spiraling out
of control, has suddenly eased on a number of fronts - raising the
tantalizing prospect that its worst period may have passed. ...
(Washington Post, page F1).

Federal Reserve officials sought to reassure the financial markets,
saying they are upbeat about the U.S. economy's ability to weather
global turmoil and signaling a willingness to cut interest rates again
if investors get jumpy. ... (Wall Street Journal, page A2)_____Top
Federal Reserve policymakers hinted that they are likely to cut interest
rates further next month to counter global financial turmoil before it
tips the United States into recession. ... Fed Vice Chair Alice Rivlin
said that there are two priorities:  "One is to put up roadblocks to
stop the contagion so that emerging-market countries can begin to get
back on their feet, and the other is to keep the world's largest
economy, namely us, from slowing down too much". ... (USA Today, page
1A).  


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