> BLS DAILY REPORT, TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2001:
>
> RELEASED TODAY: "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment: February
> 2001" indicates that regional and state unemployment rates were very
> stable in February. All four regions reported the same rates that they
> had in January, and 44 states recorded changes of 0.3 percentage point or
> less. The national jobless rate, 4.2 percent, was unchanged from January.
> Nonfarm employment increased in 38 states in February.
>
> Temporary workers get the ax, but don't always get the attention, says The
> Wall Street Journal in its "Work Week" feature (page A1). As an example,
> it cited Compaq Computer Corp. as saying recently that it will cut 5,000
> jobs in a restructuring. Later, after reporters asked, the computer maker
> said 10 to 15 percent of its 24,500 contract workers will be cut as well.
> "Contingency work forces are just that. Business fluctuates," a spokesman
> says. Meanwhile, among the big employers tracked by the Bureau of Labor
> Statistics, 53,200 temp workers filed unemployment claims in November
> through January, up 29 percent from the year-earlier period. But
> sometimes they are hard to identify. Intel Corp. announced this month
> that it would cut jobs through attrition, but a spokeswoman says some of
> its roughly 750 temps could be cut during budget reductions. And in
> today's environment, temps could have a harder time finding new
> assignments, says the general council of the American Staffing
> Association, Alexandria, Va.
>
> Excessive consumer and business debt, coupled with the fallout from the
> recent downturn in the stock market, are the primary threats to U.S.
> economic growth, according to a survey by the National Association for
> Business Economics. The survey, a semiannual snapshot of 267 NABE members'
> views on problems facing U.S. economic policy, was compiled during the
> first week of March. One significant shift in the NABE survey is that
> economists no longer are voicing concerns that labor market conditions
> might inhibit economic growth. According to the survey, only 5 percent of
> respondents viewed shortages of skilled labor or poorly prepared labor as
> a major economic problem, down from 27 percent in August 2000. The shift
> in attitudes has come amid the rapid slowdown in the economy and the
> resulting increase in unemployment. Two areas that still could threaten
> continued economic growth, however, are excessive growth in government
> spending and/or taxation and high energy prices (Daily Labor Report, page
> A-9).
>
> Sales of new and previously owned homes fell in February, but the housing
> market remained one of the strongest areas in the nation's shaky economy,
> according to reports released today. Sales of previously owned homes fell
> 0.4 percent, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million last
> month, the National Association of Realtors said. That was down from 5.20
> million in January, a figure that was revised higher. In another report,
> the government said sales of new homes fell for the second consecutive
> month in February, decreasing 2.4 percent, to an annual rate of 911,000
> from 933,000 in the previous month. Despite the monthly declines,
> analysts noted that the housing market was coming off record high levels
> and remained one of the bright lights in a gloomy economic picture. Low
> mortgage rates have supported home sales and construction (Reuters in The
> New York Times, page C6).
>
> Home sales declined moderately last month, but remain strong by historical
> standards and suggest that low mortgage rates are helping to buoy the
> market (The Wall Street Journal, page A2).
>
> Gone with the soaring economy are the days of blithely moving from job to
> job in search of better opportunities and higher pay, says Kathy Chen in
> The Wall Street Journal feature "Your Career Matters" (page B1). Now,
> worried workers are trying to protect what they have, working longer hours
> and even considering cuts in pay. Some newcomers to the labor market are
> eschewing more lucrative, but risky, New Economy jobs in the high-tech
> sector for safer bets in traditional trades, like banking and consulting.
> The uncertain economic outlook is also delaying retirement dates for some
> older workers. That, in turn, is tripping up plans by some companies to
> trim their work forces through voluntary early retirement-programs instead
> of involuntary layoffs. During the boom, many people in their early or
> mid-50s snapped up generous early-retirement packages and then often moved
> on to start their own business, take another job or go back to school.
> Now "people are being more cautious," says the work issues program
> coordinator for AARP, a lobbying group for older Americans based in
> Washington, D.C. "Early retirement is not as attractive because of the
> risk of not being able to find a job as easily" (The Wall Street Journal,
> page B1).
>
> Gasoline prices dipped a penny a gallon at the pump in the past 2 weeks,
> continuing a trend that began in January, according to an industry
> analyst. The average price of gas was about $1.47 a gallon, down a cent
> from March 9, according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations
> nationwide. Prices have fallen more than 5 cents per gallon since Jan. 15
> as the winter season reduced driving and gasoline demand (The Washington
> Post, page E2).
>
> DUE OUT TOMORROW: Lost-Worktime Injuries and Illnesses: Characteristics
> and Resulting Time Away From Work, 1999
>
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