BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2001
Responding to growing interest in various stock plans offered as employee
benefits, the Bureau of Labor Statistics incorporates questions on the
incidence of stock options into its annual benefits survey, as it continues
exploring options for measuring the cost of such plans to employers, Bureau
of Labor Statistics economist William Wiatrowski says. The agency plans
further research into how it can collect cost information from employers on
stock options as a follow-up to last fall's report on the prevalence of such
plans. ... "After a method for calculating the cost of a stock option is
determined, BLS must ascertain that such data will be available from
employers and that the data can be updated periodically," Wiatrowski writes
in an article published in the agency's Compensation and Working Conditions.
... (Daily Labor Report, page A-6; reprint of article, page E-1).
After the slowest holiday shopping season in a decade, Americans seem to
have cautiously reopened their wallets in the early weeks of 2001, spending
more than either executives or analysts had predicted. ... Despite the
slights of improvement, there is little doubt that spending has slowed since
the middle of last year. January sales, of course, are now exceeding goals
that were sharply lowered in the final months of 2000, as energy costs rose,
most stocks fell, and the economy soared. But the raft of mildly
encouraging consumer data suggests the economy has not entered a free fall.
The numbers also add weight to the argument -- still being made by a
majority of economists -- that the United States is more likely than not to
avoid a recession this year. Corporate profits may decline and investment
spending flatten out, but a tight labor market and falling interest rates
should keep consumers flush enough to extend the decade-long expansion,
these economists say. ... (New York Times, page C1).
Henry Solano, most recently solicitor of labor, is acting as head of the
Labor Department, apparently until such time as the Senate confirms
President Bush's choice for the post. Elaine Chao, the labor
secretary-designee, goes before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions Committee Jan. 24 for her confirmation hearing. Chao, a former
chief executive officer of United Way of America and wife of Sen. Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.), is expected to be confirmed. ... (Daily Labor Report,
page A-1).
DUE OUT TOMORROW: Employment Cost Index -- December 2000
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