> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2001:
>
> RELEASED TODAY: Regional and state unemployment rates were generally
> stable in June. All four regions recorded little or no change from May,
> and 45 states reported shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less, the Bureau
> of Labor Statistics reports. The national jobless rate was little changed
> at 4.5 percent in June. Nonfarm employment increased in 27 states and the
> District of Columbia in June.
>
> The inflation-adjusted weekly median earnings of full-time U.S. workers
> increased 1.7 percent in the second quarter compared with a year ago,
> according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the largest real gain
> over a 12 month period since the third quarter of last year (Daily Labor
> Report, page D-11).
>
> Food, housing and health care costs rose last month but lower energy
> prices held to moderate inflation, the Labor Department said. The consumer
> price index increased 0.2 percent in June, or 3.8 percent for the year.
> The "core" rate of inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food
> prices, rose 0.3 percent in June, compared with just 0.1 percent in May
> (The Washington Post, page E2
>
> The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3 percent in June, marking
> the third consecutive monthly advance, according to figures released by
> the Conference board, a New York based business research organization.
> Although analysts are encouraged by the steady gains in the leading index,
> they point out that the improvement has been in a few sectors rather than
> being indicative of a broad based upturn. The June increase followed a
> revised 0.4 percent gain in May, which was initially estimated as a 0.5
> percent rise. The leading index stood at 109.6 in June, up by a modest
> 0.8 percent from 108.7 (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).
>
> The index of leading economic indicators rose for a third month in June, a
> private research firm said today, suggesting growth may accelerate by the
> end of the year. A gain in consumer confidence last month helped push the
> Conference Board's gauge up 0.3 percent after a 0.4 percent increase in
> May (The New York Times, page C4).
>
> Hopes that an economic turnaround is imminant were buoyed when a key gauge
> of future activity inched higher for the third straight month in June, and
> the U.S. trade deficit shrank in May to its lowest level in more than a
> year. The New York based Conference Board said its index of leading
> economic indicators rose a higher-than-expected 0.3 percent, to 109.6 last
> month, after risking 0.5 percent in May. Meanwhile, the Commerce
> Department said the US trade deficit shrank 11.4 percent in May, as
> Americans scaled back on purchases of foreign-made goods and exports
> increased (Tribune News Service, Chicago Tribune).
>
> New York State's economy, which had been bucking the national economic
> slump, has slammed into a brick wall, losing jobs in the private sector in
> both May and June, the first such back-to-back job declines since 1998.
> Employment also fell in New York City, which has been the powerhouse of
> the state economy in the last couple of years, according to new data from
> the New York State Department of Labor and the City Comptroller's office.
> An accompanying chart shows the change from the previous month of total
> jobs in the private sector in New York, seasonally adjusted. Source of
> the data is given as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New York State
> Department of Labor, and the City Comptroller's Office (The New York
> Times, page A1).
> .
New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits
dropped by 35,000 to 414,000 during the week ended July 14, according to the
Employment and Training Administration. The more closely watched 4-week
moving average increased by 2,500
to 414,000. Economists view this figure as a more accurate measure of
claims because it smoothes out the volatile weekly data. ETA attributed
some of the drop in initial claims to workers at automobile plants returning
to their jobs following annual plant shutdowns for model changeovers (Daily
Labor Report, page D-9).
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services narrowed in May by $3.7 billion
to $28.3 billion, marking its lowest level since January 2000, the Commerce
Department says (Daily Labor Report, page D-2; The Wall Street Journal, page
A2).
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