[PEN-L:2607] BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D]

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BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 1999

RELEASED TODAY:  Regional and state unemployment rates continued to be
relatively stable in December.  All four regions reported little or no
change from November, and 41 states recorded shifts of 0.3 percentage point
or less.  The national jobless rate, 4.3 percent, was little changed from
November.  Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 45 states. ...  

New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits
dropped 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000 in the week ended Jan. 16,
the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor
announces.  This is the third straight week in which claims declined,
following the dramatic increase of 83,000 claims in the week ended Dec. 28.
....  (Daily Labor Report, page D-1)_____The fall was further evidence of
tight labor markets. ...  (Wall Street Journal, page A2).

The trade deficit in goods and services worsened in November, rising 14.0
percent to $15.49 billion, its highest level since August, the Commerce
Department says.  The widening in the November deficit, after narrowing the
previous 2 months, came about as imports rose to a record high. ...  (Daily
Labor Report, page D-3)_____The U.S. trade deficit surged, as the
free-spending American economy drew in a record amount of imports and
exports to slump-bound foreign countries continued to fall. ...  (Washington
Post, page E-1)_____The U.S. trade deficit expanded sharply, as continuing
economic weakness among America's trading partners precipitated a plunge in
exports.  Imports rose again, as the U.S. continued to be the buyer of first
and last resort.  The import increase would have been greater were it not
for the break in energy prices that U.S. consumers continue to enjoy.  The
volume of petroleum imports was down, because of mild autumn weather, and
the price of a barrel of imported oil sank to $10.51 in November, from
$11.59 in October. ...  (Wall Street Journal, page A2)

DUE OUT MONDAY:  Union Members in 1998


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