[PEN-L:4149] BLS Daily Report

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BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1999

RELEASED TODAY:  Regional and state unemployment rates were stable in
January.  All four regions reported little change over the month, and 45
states and the District of Columbia recorded shifts of 0.3 percentage point
or less.  The national jobless rate remained at 4.3 percent.  Nonfarm
payroll employment rose in 31 states. ...  

A chart attributed to BLS shows that lower import prices are holding down
inflation.  In fact, import prices fell in 1998 by the most since 1983,
thanks to cheap oil and lower-priced Asian imports (Business Week, March 1,
page 8). 

Business activity in the non-manufacturing sector continued to expand in
February, the National Association of Purchasing Management said.  The
NAPM's non-manufacturing business activity index rose to 57 percent, up from
54 percent in January.  NAPM said the expansion reaffirms that December's
index drop was likely due to seasonal factors. ...  Comparing this survey
with the closely watched NAPM manufacturing survey, both non-manufacturing
industries and production in manufacturing industries experienced a growth
in business activity in February.  However, the business activity in
non-manufacturing industries had a slightly higher rate of growth. ...  The
highest rates of employment growth were reported in the legal services,
insurance, agriculture, retail trade, and public administration industries.
The entertainment, real estate, business services, wholesale trade, and
utilities industries reported the highest rates of employment deceases. ...
(Daily Labor Report, page A-5).

"Fill up that gas tank. Quick!" is the advice of The Washington Post (page
E1).  Heavy demand, seasonal downturns in gasoline inventories, shutdowns in
refining for maintenance and as a result of accidents, combined with the
return of spring and summer driving season, mean that gas prices may have
hit bottom.  Experts say prices could be headed up again, if these trends
continue.  The average retail price for unleaded gasoline increased by more
than half a penny this week, after months of decline, according to the
Department of Energy. ...   

Productivity has been better longer than you think, says an editorial in
Business Week (March 8, page 130).  That was the crucial subtext of Fed
Chairman Alan Greenspan's remarks in his recent Humphrey-Hawkins testimony
before Congress.  Recognizing that the conventional ways of measuring
productivity are flawed, the Federal Reserve has been busy constructing its
own new method.  It focuses on the real capacity and profit improvements
generated by new investment in capital.  The Fed's startling finding is that
the rate of return generated by each new dollar's worth of investment began
rising 5 years ago. ...  As a result, productivity growth in nonfinancial
corporations -- one of Greenspan's preferred measures -- has averaged 2.2
percent in this business cycle, compared with only 1.5 percent in the late
1980s.  All this means that the productivity revolution in America began
much earlier and is stronger than the conventional measures have been
showing. ...  

In a study of layoffs over the last 6 years, Challenger, Gray & Christmas,
the outplacement firm in Chicago, has found that the computer industry,
considered a prime source of job growth, is also a leader in job loss.  The
firm says that, from 1993 through 1998, companies in more than 30 industries
announced a combined 3.1 million layoffs; seven industries accounted for
more than half the total.  The computer industry ranked third in downsizing,
outpointed only by aerospace and retailing. ...  (New York Times, Feb. 28,
Money & Business section, page 11).

The Big Three automakers will continue to trim manufacturing workforces in
1999, but Michigan expects to offset the job losses with continued growth in
the automotive parts supply sector, according to a University of Michigan
study. ...  (Daily Labor Report, page A-6).

DUE OUT TOMORROW:  The Employment Situation:  February 1999


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