> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, JULY 3, 2001:
>
> Activity in the manufacturing sector improved in June, but not enough to
> prevent the sector from contracting for an 11th consecutive month,
> according to the National Association of Purchasing Management. NAPM's
> purchasing managers index -- derived from a monthly survey of purchasing
> managers in the manufacturing industry -- rose 2.6 percentage points to
> 44.7 percent in June, its highest level since November 2000. NAPM said a
> level of 44.7 translates to a 0.7 percent annual rate of gross domestic
> product growth. One area that continues to remain near its low is NAPM's
> employment index, which rose 1.3 percenage points to just 36.4 percent.
> An employment index above 47.5 percent over time generally is consistent
> with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics data on manufacturing
> employment. NAPM said 34 of its survey respendents said they had cut
> employment in June, while only 10 percent said they had incresed
> employment. Only the petroleum industry indicated growth in employment
> during June, NAPM said (Daily Labor Report, page A-1).
>
> The labor force by 2008 will have a median age of 40.7 years, a high level
> by historical standards, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1998,
> the median age was 38.7 years (The Wall Street Journal's "Work Week"
> column, page A1).
>
> Consumer spending well outpaced personal income, which grew at a modest
> rate of 0.2 percent in May, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports.
> Spending, which remained steady from April, was largely the result of
> declining interest rates, said the National Association of Manufacturers.
> The lower interest rates fueled purchases of durable goods, such as cars,
> which were responsible for 1.6 percent of the increase in spending in May.
> BEA data showed that wages and salaries in May increased $6.1 billion,
> less than half the $12.7 billion incease in April. Much of this slowdown
> was attributed to the continuing decrease in manufacturing payrolls, which
> sank $4.8 billion in May (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).
>
> American consumers have continued spending enough to put a floor under the
> struggling U.S. economy, even though their incomes aren't rising as fast
> as they were earler this year, according to government figures released
> yesterday. Consumer spending for goods and services in May rose 0.5
> percent for the second month in a row, about twice the gains in February
> and March, the Commerce Department said. After adjustment for inflation,
> the increase was 0.3 percent in both April and May, also larger than in
> the two preceding months. Meanwhile, personal income rose only 0.2
> percent in May, just as it had in April, largely because of smaller
> increases in wage and salaries. Disposable personal income -- essentially
> after-tax income -- also increased 0.2 percent. With spending rising more
> than disposable income, consumers had to borrow, draw down their bank
> accounts or sell some of their assets to pay for some of their purchases
> (John M. Berry, The Washington Post, page E1).
>
> An index of manufacturing rose to a seven-month high in June, and consumer
> spending increased more than expected in May, industry and government
> reports showed. The data were seen as a sign that the economy could be
> starting to recover (Bloomberg News, in The New York Times, page C4).
>
> The economy is showing stirrings of life, says The Wall Street Journal
> (page A2). Manufacturers' spirits rose in June, and consumers continued
> to spend at a healthy clip in May despite all the headlines about
> corporate cutbacks. The Commerce Department also reported a 0.3 percent
> increase in construction spending for May. While slightly lower than the
> 0.4 percent rise in April, the May results were significantly better than
> market expectations of a 0.1 percent increase.
>
> Orders to U.S. factories rebounded in May, posting their best performance
> in nearly a year. Stronger demand for cars and semiconductors led the
> way. The Commerce Department reported that factory orders rose 2.5
> percent in May, following a 3.4 decline the month before (Jeannine Aversa,
> Associated Press, http://www.nypost.com/apstories/V4870.htm;
> http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2001-07-03-factory.htm).
>
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