DAILY LABOR REPORT, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2000
__Productivity in the nation's nonfarm business sector moderated to a 3.3
percent annual rate of growth in the third quarter, reflecting the overall
economic slowdown, BLS says, releasing revised figures. The agency also
says unit labor costs in the quarter were the highest in more than a year.
... National Association of Manufacturers President Jerry Jasinowski said
the latest BLS figures indicate that corporations are responding to cost
increases "not by raising prices but by cutting expenses." Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan said he believed that, even as the overall rate of
economic growth and productivity gains have slowed, "during the summer
months output per hour advanced at a pace sufficiently impressive to affirm
a definitely elevated underlying rate of structural productivity growth from
the levels of a decade ago." ... (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).
__The productivity of workers, which has underpinned the nation's record
economic expansion, rose in the third quarter, but at a much slower pace
than in the previous one. Nonfarm productivity, which measures the output
per worker outside the farm sector, rose at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in
the third quarter, down from an initial estimate of 3.8 percent. That was
weaker than the 3.5 percent gain forecast by Wall Street economists and much
slower than the 6.1 percent advance in the second quarter. ... (Reuters
story in New York Times, page C10).
The Federal Reserve reports economic growth slowed further in November and
consumer prices held steady despite tight labor markets and rising health
care benefits costs. ... (Daily Labor Report, page D-12)___ __Just a day
after Chairman Alan Greenspan said the Federal Reserve was alert to the
possibility of a sharp economic slowdown, the central bank's latest survey
of regional economic conditions made clear that the situation is far from
dire. Eight of the Fed's 12 regions reported slower growth, with only New
York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Minneapolis experiencing steady growth. ...
The survey found inflation didn't budge much, despite rising wages and
health-care costs. The ultratight labor market eased, though scattered
labor shortages continued. ... ( Wall Street Journal, page A2)
The economy showed further signs of slower growth in November, with weakness
in auto sales, manufacturing, and construction, the Federal Reserve said.
In its latest survey of business conditions around the country, the Fed said
eight districts -- Boston, Cleveland, Richmond, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas
City, Dallas, and San Francisco -- were seeing signs of a slowdown, while
New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Minneapolis reported "moderate, steady
growth." The Fed survey, known as the beige book for the color of its
cover, will be used when the central bank's policymakers meet Dec. 19 to
determine whether to adjust interest rates. ... Financial analysts are not
expecting the Fed policymakers to cut interest rates at its December
meeting, but they do believe they will shift their policy statement to
neutral, away from the position of worrying more about higher inflation than
about weakness in the economy. The beige book says that, while labor
markets remained tight around the country, wage growth had continued
generally to be moderate. It did note "widespread reports of increased
costs for employee health benefits." Meanwhile, the BLS released a revised
estimate showing that productivity, the key to rising living standards, rose
at a solid annual rate of 3.3 percent in the July-September quarter. That
figure was slightly lower than an estimate a month ago that productivity was
rising at a 3.8 percent annual rate. In a potentially worrisome development,
unit labor costs, a key measure of wage pressures, rose at a 2.9 percent
annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace since a 4.3 percent jump
in the April-June quarter of 1999. The new third quarter figure represented
an upward revision from an original estimate of a 2.5 percent increase in
labor costs. ... (AP story by Martin Crutsinger in Washington Post, page
E3).
Cursed for generations by unemployment and emigration, newly prosperous
Ireland has embarked on a global recruitment drive as it runs out of workers
to fill the jobs created by its flourishing economy. ... The turnaround has
been relatively swift. ... The boom, in which the economy has grown at an
average annual rate of 9 percent in recent years, has been fueled by massive
investment by foreign companies, many in the high-tech sector. Attracted by
the presence of a well-educated English-speaking work force, low corporate
tax rates, and relatively low wages, companies such as Microsoft Corp. and
Intel Corp. have established key European operations on the Emerald Isle.
... The labor pool has grown through an increase in the number of working
women, while unemployment has fallen to a record low of 3.7 percent. There
are as many as 40,000 unfilled job openings. ... (Washington Post, page
A48).
Long-awaited revisions to the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration's revised standard for employer record keeping were sent to
the White House Office of Management and Budget Dec. 4. The OSHA
Administrator tells a session of the National Advisory Committee on
Occupational Safety and Health that the record keeping rule will be
published in early January 2001. The rule, described as "mostly a
refinement" of the proposal the agency published in 1996, includes changes
on the issue of the work relatedness of a reported injury, when
musculoskeletal injuries must be reported, how to define light duty, and
what constitutes first aid as opposed to medical treatment. ... (Daily
Labor Report, page A-5).
DUE OUT TOMORROW: The Employment Situation: November 2000
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