BLS DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2001
Regional and state unemployment rates were steady in December with all four
regions reporting little or no change and 43 states recording changes of
less than 0.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. ... (Daily
Labor Report, page D-8).
The Wall Street Journal's graph "Tracking the Economy" forecasts that the
Employment Cost Index for the Fourth Quarter, to be released Thursday, will
be up 1.1 percent, according to the Thomson Global Forecast. The previous
quarter's increase was 0.9 percent.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services narrowed 1.7 percent in
November, as imports declined more than exports, the Commerce Department
says. This was the second month in a row that the deficit posted an
improvement. ... (Daily Labor Report, page D-1)_____The U.S. trade deficit
declined in November for a second consecutive month. Imports of oil, cars,
and computers fell. The 2- month decline was the longest since May through
July 1997. Many economists are predicting a slow improvement in the trade
deficit in 2001, as weaker U.S. economic growth translates into falling
demand for imported goods. There is also hope that foreign economic growth
will pick up and boost U.S. exports and that the price of oil, a big part of
the import bill, will stabilize. ... (Washington Post, Jan. 20, page E1;
New York Times, Jan. 20, page B3)_____The U.S. trade deficit shrank in
November, reflecting a slowdown in the economy and offering further proof
that U.S. consumer demand is cooling off. Indeed, consumer demand is
slowing globally. U.S. imports had the biggest decline in a decade. But
exports, for the third month in a row, slowed as well, indicating activity
overseas is drying up. ... (Wall Street Journal, page A2).
A plunge in consumer confidence not only leads shoppers to be more cautious,
but also signals manufacturers to slow their assembly lines. Ford Motor Co.
last month said it would scale back first-quarter North American production
to 1.05 million vehicles from the initial estimate of 1.16 million. Even
the more optimistic first projection was down from the 1.27 million cars and
trucks produced in the first quarter last year. A precipitous drop in the
University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index in mid-December "moved us
from the edge of the radar screen to the bull's eye," said Ford's U.S. sales
analyst manager. On Friday, the Michigan index dropped again, to a
preliminary January reading of 93.6 from 98.4 in December. The decline
exceeded market expectations and marks the index's lowest level since the
Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. In the past 2 months, the index has
fallen 14 points, the sharpest 2-month decline since the last recession. ...
(Wall Street Journal, page A4).
Gasoline consumption in the United States fell about 1 percent last year,
the first decline since 1991 and a rare phenomenon during an economic
expansion, the American Petroleum Institute said. The institute, the oil
industry's main trade association, also said that demand for all oil
products was about the same in 2000 as in 1999, also unusual during boom
times. Demand for jet fuel and truck fuel rose, offsetting the decline in
gasoline. The decline in gasoline consumption apparently resulted from less
driving, because the number of vehicles continued to increase. ... (New
York Times, Jan. 20, page B1).
application/ms-tnef
