BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2001:
> Released Today: "The Employment Situation: January 2001" indicates that
> unemployment increased in January, and payroll employment rose by 268,000.
> Construction employment increased by 145,000, after seasonal adjustment,
> as unusual weather patterns over the last 3 months contributed to
> extremely high layoffs in January. Manufacturing experienced another
> sizable employment decline over the month. Average hourly earnings were
> unchanged. The number of unemployed rose by about 300,000 to nearly 6.0
> million, pushing the unemployment rate from 4.0 to 4.2 percent.
>
> The number of mass layoffs and the number of workers affected increased
> sharply in December, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor
> Statistics.There were 2,677 mass layoff events during December, resulting
> in initial unemployment insurance claims filed by 326,743 persons, BLS
> said. Last December's total was higher than in the prior 4 years, in part
> because of a calendar effect, the agency said. December 2000 contained 5
> weeks that ended during the month, compared with 4 weeks in each of the
> prior four Decembers (Daily Labor Report, page D-9).
>
> __California, birthplace of the high technology boom that helped carry the
> nation's economy to new heights, is also setting the national standard for
> layoffs. But the Midwest, bogged down in a manufacturing slowdown, is
> catching up quickly. These are among the highlights of a report released
> yesterday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on so-called mass layoffs,
> where companies terminate 50 or more employees at once, and the employees
> file for unemployment insurance. The report indicated while mass layoffs
> started 2000 little changed from a year earlier, layoffs rose 54% for the
> fourth quarter from a year earlier as a slowing economy prompted big
> companies to make sharp cuts in their work forces.... Because BLS measures
> only mass layoffs, which for the most part involve large companies, the
> report captures just a subset of the U.S. labor market. But economists
> say that mass-layoff data are nevertheless a valuable indicator (The Wall
> Street Journal, page A2).
>
> New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits
> rose a modest 32,000 to a total of 346,000 for the week ended January 27,
> the Employment and Training Administration says (Daily Labor Report, page
> D-7
>
> Total personal income rose by a modest 0.4 percent in December, despite a
> slowdown in the growth of U.S. workers' wages and salaries, the Bureau of
> Economic Analysis says. The pace of consumer spending stayed the same in
> December, as it had been in the prior 2 months -- showing a 0.3 percent
> gain. However, the type of spending was different in December, with
> outlays rising mainly in utilities where costs have risen sharply this
> winter (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).
>
> The National Association of Purchasing Manager's report on manufacturing
> activity declares an end to the longst period of economic expansion in the
> history of the United States. NAPM said data from its survey of 350
> purchasing managers across the country showed that the overall economy
> failed to grow during January for the first time in 117 months.
> Manufacturing activity also failed to grow for the sixth consecutive month
> in January as the purchasing managers index fell 3.1 percentage points to
> 41.2 percent, NAPM said. The chairman of NAPM's Business Survey Committee
> said a PMI in excess of 42.7 percent over a perod of time generally
> indicates an expansion of the overall economy, while a PMI in excess of 50
> percent generally indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector....
> During January alone, several major companies have announced cutbacks
> adding up to more than 80,000 job eliminations Purchasing managers also
> reported a noticeable acceleration in prices, NAPM said (Daily Labor
> Report, page A-1).
>
> Fresh evidence emerged yesterday that continuing weakness in the
> manufacturing sector may have finally brought an end to the record-long
> expansion of the U.S. economy. For the sixth month running, factory
> production continued to shrink in January, even as inventory continued to
> build up in warehouses and the pace of new orders declined, the National
> Association of Purchasing Management reported. The Labor Department
> reported that initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 32,000, to
> 345,000, last week, an increase in a series known to fluctuate widely from
> week to week. On a somewhat brighter note the Commerce Department
> reported construction activity grew 0.6 percent in December, largely on
> the basis of modest increases in building of new schools and office
> buildings. Construction of new homes increased 1.1 percent, while home
> renovations declined 3.0 percent. Finally, the government reported that
> spending on autos and other high-ticket items fell 1.9 percent in
> December, despite a 0.4 percent increase in after-tax income. Spending on
> other goods and services, however, rose slightly faster than worker
> paychecks. The economic data sketch a fuzzy picture of a two-tiered
> economy in which the manufacturing has tumbled into recession, while the
> service sector continues to hum along at a subdued pace (The Washington
> Post, page E1).
>
> Manufacturing activity plunged again in January, to levels that usually
> are seen only when the entire economy is in recession, says Greg Ip in The
> Wall Street Journal (page A2). Economists were reluctant to call the
> purchasing index conclusive evidence that the economy has entered a
> recession, which is often defined as two consecutive quarters of decline
> in the overall economy. "Recession is normally also accompanied by
> sharper declines in other interest- sensitive portions of the economy,
> namely housing, yet we're seeing very strong housing data," said the chief
> U.S. economist at S. G. Cowen.
>
> Even as the economic mood of Americans has shifted almost overnight from
> exuberance to anxiety, Europe has emerged as an oasis of tranquility and
> prosperity. After years of lagging far behind the United States, Europe
> now stands a good chance of outpacing its economic rival by a significant
> margin. Consumer confidence, which has plunged to its lowest level since
> 1993 in the United States, is running at nearly record levels across most
> of the Continent. European unemployment, stuck for much of the decade
> above 10 percent, is now at its lowest level since 1991 (The New York
> Times, page A1).
>
> An Economic Policy Institute report calls for collaborative effort among
> employers and professional associations to build skill development
> programs that could help entry-level "new media" professionals turn
> short-term jobs into long-term careers. New media workers -- those that
> use their skills to blend text, sound, and images into electronic products
> that are used interactively by consumers -- are typicaly hired to work on
> short-term projects like movies or Web page design, leaving many of them
> without basic health care coverage, retirement plans, or continuous job
> training, according to the report "Net Working: Work Patterns and
> Workforce Policies for the New Media Industry" (Daily Labor Report, page
> A-12).
>
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