> BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2001:
>
> RELEASED TODAY: The Employment Cost Index (not seasonally adjusted) for
> March 2001 was 152.5 (June 1989=100), an increase of 4.1 percent from
> March 2000, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics
> reports. The Employment Cost Index (ECI) measures changes in compensation
> costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee
> benefits.
>
> Employee benefits made up more than one-third of company payrolls in 1999,
> with health insurance the most expensive single benefit cost, according to
> the results of a nationwide study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
> Employee benefits cost employers an additional 36.8 percent over wages in
> 1999, or an average of $14,060 per employee, according to the chamber's
> "2000 Employee Benefits Study." In general, larger companies offer more
> employee benefits than smaller companies, the study says. Nearly every
> participating company offers employees benefits beyond the legally
> required payment of the Social Security payroll tax, unemployment
> insurance tax, and state worker's compensation insurance premiums (Daily
> Labor Report, page A-5).
>
> Orders to factories for costly manufactured goods rose for the first time
> this year, providing fresh hope the worst of the national slowdown may be
> over. Orders for durable goods -- items expected to last at least 3 years
> -- jumped 3 percent in March, thanks to strong demand for transportation
> equipment, the Commerce Department said. In January and February, all
> durable goods orders fell by 7.3 percent and 0.3 percent respectively (The
> Washington Post, page E2).
>
> Total housing starts for 2001 will be slightly lower as a result of a
> general economic slowdown, according to David Seiders, the chief economist
> with the National Association of Home Builders. Seiders and Joel Prakken
> of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, speaking at an NAHB semi-annual
> construction forecast conference, said overall economic prospects in the
> second half of 2001 are likely to improve and continue into 2002. On the
> employment front, Seiders predicted some increase in the jobless rate
> before that figure tops out at about 5 percent, which he said is "still a
> very low level by historical standards" (Daily Labor Report, page A-10).
>
> Sales of new homes set a record in March and sales of previously owned
> homes rose to their second highest level ever, surprising analysts and
> offering further proof that housing remains remarkably healthy in an
> otherwise deteriorating economy, two reports released yesterday showed.
> Spurred by low mortgage interest rates and still-healthy employment
> levels, new-home sales shot up 4.2 percent in March to a record annual
> rate of 1.02 million, the Commerce Department reported, beating the
> previous record of 1 million set in December. Those same factors,
> economists said, pushed up home resales (The Washington Post, page E1).
>
> Home sales unexpectedly surged in March, data released today showed,
> indicating that real estate and construction are showing resilience as the
> rest of the economy slows. A jobless rate of 4.3 percent, close to a
> 30-year low, and mortgage rates that have fallen almost 2 percentage
> points since last May are bolstering home sales. The Commerce Department
> said durable goods orders, excluding transportation equipment, fell 1.8
> percent in March to the lowest level in almost 2 years (The New York
> Times, page C4).
>
> Homes sold at record levels in March while capital-equipmentt orders sank,
> as resilient consumers and cost-cutting businesses pulled the economy in
> opposite directions (The Wall Street Journal, page A2).
>
> Just a day after a key measure of consumer confidence nose-dived, new
> numbers showed that consumers were still confident enough to buy houses at
> a record rate in March -- strong evidence that the economy could escape an
> outright recession this year. Orders for durable goods -- cars,
> refrigerators, computers and other items designed to last at least 3 years
> -- shot up unexpectedly in March. But the bad news was that virtually all
> the gain came in aircraft and defense orders, while other areas shrank.
> The key to what happens next is whether consumers keep spending. The hot
> home sales numbers suggest they will, because home buyers typically also
> buy appliances, furniture and other items to fill up their new homes (USA
> Today, page 1B).
>
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