BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1999
TODAY'S NEWS RELEASE: The preliminary seasonally adjusted annual rates of
productivity change in the second quarter were 1.6 percent in the business
sector and 1.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors,
productivity grew less in the second quarter than in the first quarter, when
output per hour of all persons (as revised) rose 3.9 percent in the business
sector and 3.6 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In manufacturing,
productivity changes in the second quarter were: 4.9 percent in
manufacturing, 9.0 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and -0.3 percent
in nondurable goods manufacturing. ...
__Fatal workplace injuries dropped 3 percent in 1998, to 6,026, the lowest
total since the federal government began counting individual fatalities 7
years ago. Much of that decline stemmed from an 18 percent drop in
job-related homicides, though other deaths -- particularly those resulting
from workers being struck by falling objects or caught in machinery -- also
were down from 1997, BLS says. But some fatalities increased in 1998,
including highway crashes, which continue to be the leading cause of
work-related deaths and accounted for 24 percent of the 1998 total. ...
Deaths resulting from contact with overhead power lines -- a total of 153 in
1998 -- were up 10 percent from 1997 and are at their highest level since
BLS began collecting the data 7 years ago, the agency says. ... (Daily
Labor Report, page D-1).
__Going to work has gotten a lot safer in recent years, the government
announced yesterday in its annual report on on-the-job fatalities.
Robbery-related homicides in the nation's restaurants and stores dropped by
46 percent, from 530 in 1994 to 286 last year, during a period when the size
of the work force was rapidly expanding, according to a report issued by
BLS. Labor Department officials and experts on workplace violence credited
a mixture of factors, including the booming economy, the general decline in
crime, new security measures that have been widely adopted by retail stores,
and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's voluntary security
recommendations, which were announced last year. ... Guy Toscano, the BLS
economist who compiles the fatality statistics each year by combing state
and federal injury data and cross-referencing death certificates and
worker's compensation records, attributed the decline to the nation's
vigorous pace of job creation. "A regular paycheck reduces the incentive
for committing robberies," he said. ... (Kirstin Downey Grimsley in
Washington Post, page E14).
Orders to factories, bolstered by higher demand for autos and electronic
equipment, rose 0.7 percent in June in a fresh sign of a recovery by the
manufacturing sector. This 10th increase in the last 13 months followed a 1
percent gain in May, the Commerce Department said. Many analysts had
expected factory orders to rise by 0.4 percent in June. ... (Washington
Post, page E14)_____Economists said United States manufacturers are
gradually recovering from a global financial crisis, which dampened overseas
demand for American-made goods and increased competition from a flood of
cheaper imports. Since March 1998, about 488,000 manufacturing jobs have
been lost. ... (New York Times, page C12)_____The volatile transportation
sector enjoyed the largest rise in new orders, with an increase in car
orders more than offsetting lessened demand for aircraft and spare parts.
.... (Wall Street Journal, page A2)
Activity in the nonmanufacturing sector slowed in July, but still expanded,
the National Association of Purchasing Managers says. The nonmanufacturing
price, employment, new orders, and new export orders indexes remained in
growth territory. ... Prices paid by nonmanufacturing businesses for
materials and services increased for the fifth consecutive month in July to
57.5 percent, the highest level since the index began in July 1997. The
industries reporting the highest rates of increase were legal services,
retail trade, mining, communications, and wholesale trade. Employment
slowed some in the nonmanufacturing sector in July, but still gained at 56.5
percent. July was its fifth month showing growth, but was down one point
from June. Communications, utilities, real estate, retail trade, and
transportation reported the highest rates of growth. ... (Daily Labor
Report, page A-3; New York Times, page C12).
Salary increases are expected to be moderate again next year, averaging
between 4 and 4.4 percent overall, according to results of preliminary
survey data collected by William M. Mercer Inc. The survey found that
salary increases remain moderate, even at a time when unemployment is at a
25-year low. ... (Daily Labor Report, page A-2).
Two-thirds of the people who left New York State's rapidly declining welfare
rolls found jobs within the year after they stopped receiving public
assistance, according to a new study commissioned by the state. The study,
however, also found that only 40 percent of the people who found jobs worked
continuously during that time. ... (New York Times, page A19).
DUE OUT TOMORROW: The Employment Situation: July 1999
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