BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1999:
The "traditional family" in which only the husband worked comprised only
19.2 percent of all married-couple families in 1998. This was about the
same as in the previous year, but far short of the nearly 50 percent 30
years ago, according to data released by BLS. ... "The report shows that
more parents are working and, as a result, need more help balancing their
work and family life," Labor Secretary Herman said. ... (Daily Labor
Report, page D-1).
For nearly 3 decades, in good times and in bad, young black men with little
education and few skills lost ground. Facing high unemployment, falling
pay, and persistent discrimination, a depressingly large number never really
joined the work force or drifted out of it, getting by on handouts,
hustling, or crime. But now the nation's job boom is drawing many of these
young men -- perhaps the most economically disadvantaged, socially alienated
group in America -- back into the economic mainstream. Low unemployment and
tight labor markets have always encouraged upward mobility. The surprise,
researchers say, is how dramatic the gains have been. A new study of
low-wage men in 322 metropolitan areas by Richard B. Freeman at Harvard
University and William M. Rodgers 3d. at the College of William and Mary
shows that black men aged 16 to 24 with a high school education or less --
many saddled with prison records -- are working in greater numbers, earning
bigger paychecks, and committing fewer crimes than in the early
1990's. ... In the 14 areas where unemployment has been below 4 percent in
every year since 1992 -- places like the Raleigh-Durham area in North
Carolina; Rochester, Minn.; and Des Moines -- the percentage of young,
less-educated black men who are working has jumped from 52 to 64 percent.
.... (Sylvia Nasar with Kirsten B. Mitchell in New York Times, May 23, page
A1).
Consumer confidence edged up in May, for a record-breaking seventh
consecutive monthly gain, the Conference Board reports. "Low inflation and a
strong job market are providing a durable foundation for historically high
levels of consumer confidence," a representative of the research
organization says. ... The consumer confidence survey is based on a
representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. ... (Daily Labor Report,
page A-3)_____The increase came despite recent reports that the Fed may
consider raising interest rates in the future (Washington Post, page E10).
Home resales dropped 3.3 percent last month after hitting an all-time high
in March, the National Association of Realtors reported. The setback was
blamed on rising mortgage rates and marked the first decline after five
consecutive monthly increases (Washington Post, page E1).
The rise in consumer confidence suggests that consumers are willing to keep
spending on all sorts of goods and services as long as jobs remain
plentiful, the stock market remains steady, and prices remain low. Even the
recent acceleration of inflation has failed to keep shoppers away from the
malls. ... Fewer respondents, however, said they planned to buy a house in
the near future, reflecting the recent rise in mortgage rates. ... Indeed,
house sales already are beginning to slow, according to a report that showed
that the rate that existing homes changed hands last month was down 3.3
percent from March's record. When compared with a year ago, April's results
were up 6.3 percent. ... (Wall Street Journal, page A2)
The National Association of Manufacturers' survey shows small manufacturers
expect a "slight slowdown" in sales, wages, capital spending, exports, and
profitability this year. ... Wage pressures indicate little risk of
inflation, since only 14 percent of the small manufacturers anticipated
wages rising by more than 5 percent this year, while nearly 19 percent
actually saw increases of 5 percent or more last year. ... (Daily Labor
Report, page A-13).
Economic growth in the non-manufacturing sector of the economy will stay
strong in the second half of the year, as a significant majority of firms
look for their revenues to increase over 1998, the National Association of
Purchasing Management said. ... The poll found that the leading concerns
for purchasing executives of non-manufacturing firms are labor and benefit
costs, increased costs and inflation, and availability of labor. ...
Purchasing executives reported that employment had increased 2.6 percent
since November and will increase 1.9 percent for the balance of this year.
Industries that anticipate the greatest increases include business services,
finance and banking, entertainment, retail trade, communication, insurance,
and "other" services. ... (Daily Labor Report, page A-12).
Nationwide, the percentage of immigrants in the Army is still small: about
5 percent last year, up from 2 percent a decade ago. But Army officials say
they believe that the children of immigrants, too, are enlisting in greater
numbers. Since they do not keep statistics on immigrants who are
naturalized citizens, that belief is supported not by hard numbers but by
anecdotal evidence and by inference based on signs like the growth in the
percentage of Hispanic soldiers. More than 10 percent of the roughly 70,000
recruits in fiscal year 1998, for instance, were Hispanic, up from 4 percent
in 1987. ... (New York Times, May 23, page 27).
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