[PEN-L:2344] BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D]

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BLS DAILY REPORT, TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1999

__The price of goods imported into the United States dropped 0.7 percent in
December and fell 6.1 percent in 1998, BLS reports. The 1998 decline was the
largest annual price drop since 1983, when BLS began its series on import
prices.  "Those type of drops are, of course, extremely helpful in keeping
the U.S. inflation rate well under control," says the chief capital markets
economist with First Union.  Export prices dipped 0.1 percent in December
and fell 3.5 percent for the year.  The decline in export prices was the
sharpest annual downturn since BLS began this export price series in 1984,
and was more than double the percent of decreases in 1997 and 1996. ...
(Daily Labor Report, page D-6).
__Last year, prices for goods imported into the U.S. took their sharpest
decline in more than a decade, falling 6.1 percent, the Labor Department
said.  Oil prices pulled that reading down, as they plunged 40 percent
during the year.  Prices of exported goods also fell in 1998, declining 3.5
percent after falling 1.1 percent in 1997. ...  (Wall Street Journal, Jan.
18, page A2).

Employees of companies that don't offer full benefit packages are still most
likely to purchase benefits like vision care, health and life insurance, and
dental coverage through their employers, according to a study commissioned
by financial services company MetLife, New York (Wall Street Journal, "Work
Week", page A1).

Last year, 62 percent of mothers with children under the age of 3 had jobs,
compared with 52 percent in 1988, according to BLS. ...  Working fathers
spend an average of 2.3 hours a day with their kids, a half hour increase
over 20 years ago, according to the Families and Work Institute, New York
(Wall Street Journal, "Work Week," page A1).

The nation's factories, mines, and utilities ended a sluggish year on the
upswing, as industrial production increased slightly in October, November,
and December.  Consumer sentiment also rose in the early part of January,
still buoyed by low inflation, low interest rates, and a tight labor market.
Industrial production rose 0.2 percent in December, and readings for
November and October were revised upward slightly, the Federal Reserve said
on Friday.  The readings indicate that production has expanded at a slower
pace, but not as slowly as previously believed.  During all of 1998,
industrial production expanded just 3.7 percent, the slowest rate in 5
years.  In 1997, production grew a total of 6 percent. ...  (Wall Street
Journal, Jan. 18, page A2).

Business inventories increased 0.4 percent in November, and sales matched
inventories, up 0.4 percent, Census Bureau data show. ...  (Daily Labor
Report, page A-8).

DUE OUT TOMORROW:  Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers:  Fourth
Quarter 1998 


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