> BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2000:
>
> Multifactor productivity in the nation's nonfarm business sector grew by
> 1.5 percent in 1998, marking the seventh consecutive year of growth,
> according to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS
> attributed some of the recent improvements to capital investments,
> especially in technology such as information processing equipment. The
> agency said the multifactor productivity report is available annually
> because much of the information used to compute the measure is only
> available on a yearly basis. The 1998 report reflects new data and
> concepts introduced by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic
> Analysis in its revisions of output and income figures (Daily Labor
> Report, page A-6).
>
> Layoffs in the second quarter of 2000, both the number of mass layoffs
> and the number of workers who lost their jobs, declined to their lowest
> level since 1995, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. BLS analysts
> said the mass layoff report excluded temporary Census Bureau workers hired
> to conduct the population count (Daily Labor Report, September 21, page
> D-8)
>
> The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issues the 2001 schedule for
> release of principal federal economic indicators, and it is printed in the
> September 21 Daily Labor Report (page D-15).
>
Not so long ago, Federal Reserve officials were telling the public that
productivity gains had lifted the U.S. economy's growth rate in the 1990s to
a healthy 3.5 percent to 4 percent range. Recently, however, they have
hinted that even that relatively optimistic assessment may be too
conservative. After standing firm on interest rates at its August meeting,
the Fed's open-market committee pointedly noted that "more rapid advances in
productivity have been raising potential growth, as well as containing
costs" (Business Week, September 25, page 30).
The Federal Government has far more data on people who want to work than on
those who don't, says Business Week (September 25, page 14). Many who don't
are probably retirees or homemakers, but the government doesn't know for
sure. Persons not in the labor force as of August 2000 include 5.3 percent
who haven't searched for work in the past year, and are not searching now;
1.3 percent who searched for work in the past year but are not searching
now, 0.4 percent who are discouraged about ever finding work, and 93 percent
who don't want a job. A total of 67,948,000 are not in the labor force.
These figures are presented in graph form. Source of the data is given as
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In both Europe and the U.S., the working-age share of the population will
shrink considerably in coming decades -- putting downward pressure on living
standards. As a recent analysis by economist Patricia S. Pollard of the
Federal Reserve Board of St. Louis makes clear, however, European nations
face even greater pressure because of trends in labor force participation by
both younger and older men. In most advanced nations, the share of women in
the workforce has surged in recent decades. Yet in much of Europe -- like
the U.S. -- total labor force participation has hardly risen. The reason:
Many younger and older men no longer work. In the U.S., these trends have
been less pronounced, particularly among younger men. That fact, and the
recent decline in U.S. unemployment and rise in productivity bode well for
America's ability to meet the demographic challenge ahead. But Europe will
have to reverse its trends toward late entry into and early exit from the
labor force in order to thrive (Business Week, September 25, page 30).
> New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits
> declined by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted total of 308,000 during the
> week ended September 16, according to figures by the Labor Department's
> Employment and Training Administration (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).
> __The jobless claims data suggested that businesses were struggling to
> find and keep workers. Although some economists fear labor shortages
> will force employers to increase wages and consumer prices, a separate
> report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found price pressure
> easing on manufacturers in that area (The Washington Post, page E2).
> __New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, reversing the
> recent course. Though down from the last report both initial and
> continuing claims remain higher than they were a year ago. Recent data --
> from the August employment report to the Fed's survey of economic activity
> released Wednesday -- indicate the tight labor market is loosening a bit.
> "We think this dip is temporary and that claims continue to signal a
> slackening in labor market conditions, said a spokesman of High Frequency
> Economics in Valhalla, New York (The Wall Street Journal, page A2).
>
> Data compiled by the Bureau of National Affairs show a weighted average
> first-year wage increase in newly negotiated contracts of 3.8 percent,
> compared with 3.4 percent in a comparable period of 1999. The median
> first-year increase for settlements reported to date in 2000 was 3.3
> percent, compared with 3 percent in 1999 (Daily Labor Report, September
> 21, page D-20).
>
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