[PEN-L:2748] BLS Daily Report

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BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1999

__Private industry wages rose 3.9 percent in 1998, the same increase as the
year before, data released by BLS show.  The size of the gain surprises
analysts who expected an acceleration from 1997.  Private industry
compensation costs accelerated slightly in 1998, rising 3.5 percent after a
3.4 percent 1997 advance.  The 1998 increase was the largest since a 3.6
percent gain in 1993. ...  Although 1997 and 1998 had the largest yearly
advances in wages and salaries since a 4 percent increase in 1990, the
fourth quarter moderated 1998's gain.  Private industry wages and salaries
grew 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with advances of 1.3
percent in the third, 1 percent in the second, and 0.8 percent in the first.
Many economists, who look at an acceleration in wage gains as a precursor
for an uptick in inflation, voice relief that the increase in wages was less
in the fourth quarter than in the third. ...  (Daniel J. Roy in Daily Labor
Report, page D-1).
__Brisk economic growth last year pushed up Americans' wages and benefits by
3.4 percent from 1997.  But not everyone was able to cash in on what was the
largest overall pay increase in five years.  Finance, insurance, and real
estate agents, as well as high-tech workers on the West Coast, saw some of
the biggest increases in compensation for the year.  Money managers,
stockbrokers, and other investment professionals garnered the largest gains
for 1998, 5.9 percent over 1997, while bankers got a 4.3 percent increase.
Home health care, aircraft, and transportation workers were given lackluster
raises in their total benefits package last year. ...  (Dawn Kopecki in
Washington Times, page B9).

New orders to factories for durable goods rose 1.9 percent in December to
post their strongest gain in five months, the Commerce Department reports.
For the entire year, orders increased 3.4 percent over 1997. ...  (Daily
Labor Report, page D-17).

New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits
dropped 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 301,000 in the week ended Jan. 23,
the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration announces.
This is the fourth 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-15).

__U.S. workers' wages, salaries and benefits rose only moderately last year,
despite a drop in joblessness to the lowest level in nearly three decades, a
government report said.  The employment cost index (ECI), a broad measure of
the nation's labor costs, rose 3.4 percent last year, only slightly more
than 1997's 3.3 percent gain, BLS said.  The wage and salary component of
the index was up 3.7 percent, a downtick from the 3.8 percent increase the
year before. ...  Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said that new orders
for durable goods rose a strong 1.9 percent last month, with orders for
technology equipment leading the way. ...  (John M. Berry in Washington
Post, page E3).
__Factory orders for big-ticket goods increased for the sixth time in seven
months as demand for industrial hardware, electronics, and electrical
equipment accelerated. ...  In another report, wages and salaries in the
fourth quarter grew at their slowest pace in two years. ...  In addition,
first-time jobless claims fell to the lowest level in more than a month. ...
(Bloomberg News story in New York Times, page C6).
__Durable-goods orders showed surprising manufacturing strength.  Labor
costs remained steady in the fourth quarter. ...  (Alejandro Bodipo-Memba in
Wall Street Journal, page A2).

Signaling a slight dip in job growth, the Conference Board's help-wanted
index slipped 2 points in December, falling to 88 percent of its 1987 base,
down from 90 percent in November.  December's showing still was above the 87
percent posted one year ago. ...  (Daily Labor Report, page A-7)_____Robust
job growth in Western states was offset by shrinking demand in the
Northeast. ...  (Wall Street Journal, page A6).

The all-industries median first-year wage increase under contracts
negotiated in 1998 was 3 percent, unchanged from 1997, according to data
compiled by the Bureau of National Affairs.  The median increases deferred
to the second and third years of contracts bargained in 1997 also were
unchanged at 3 percent each. ...  (Daily Labor Report, page D-19).

The late Cesar Chavez, who rose from a fruit and vegetable picker to the
leadership of the United Farm Workers of America, was inducted into the
Labor Hall of Fame at the U.S. Department of Labor. ...  Chavez was chosen
by the 10-member selection panel, a group of labor, management, and public
representatives that is independent of the Labor Department. ...  (Daily
Labor Report, page A-14).


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