> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2001:
>
> The September employment report, scheduled for release October 5 by the
> Bureau of Labor Statistics, will not reflect losses from the September 11
> terrorist attacks because of the way payrolls are counted, BLS officials
> say. It will be the October jobs figures that will provide the first
> official labor market report that includes the loss of several thousand
> persons in New York City and Washington, D.C. The payroll employment
> count is derived from a survey of about 350,000 nonfarm establishments
> that ask firms to report how many persons worked at all during the week
> that includes the 12th of the month. "Workers employed for any portion of
> that pay period are counted as employed by the survey," BLS said in a fact
> sheet released September 18. The most recent employment report showed
> that in August the unemployment rate jumped 0.4 percentage point to 4.9
> percent, the highest level in nearly 4 years. Payroll employment fell by
> 113,000, a larger drop than expected (Daily Labor Report, page AA-4).
>
> Falling energy prices kept consumer prices in check as they increased 0.1
> percent in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to data
> released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase follows a 0.3
> percent drop in July. For the third consecutive month, the energy index
> declined, dropping 1.9 percent in August, the government reported. "All
> reports that are reflecting what happened before September 11 are
> irrelevant to financial markets," says the chief economist at First Union
> National Bank in Charlotte, N.C. "Right now, inflation is the last thing
> anybody is worried about," he continued. But the chairman of
> Macroeconomics Advisors in St. Louis says that the terrorist attacks may
> not have a dramatic effect on the CPI. He said he expects airlines to
> offer major price discounts to attract customers. He also said that while
> prices of computers and other technological equipment may not necessarily
> increase, they are not expected to decline. The president of the National
> Association of Manufacturers called the report "Welcome news that
> inflationary pressures remain mild" (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).
>
> The consumer price index edged up 0.1 percent in August, as lower prices
> for gasoline, tobacco and airline tickets helped to offset higher costs
> for medical care. The "core" rate of inflation -- which excludes energy
> and food prices -- rose for the second straight month by 0.2 percent (The
> Washington Post).
> Inflation was muted in August, kept in check by falling energy prices, the
> government said today in a report that could reassure the Federal Reserve
> Board that there is room for further interest rate cuts. The Labor
> Department's Consumer Price Index, the nation's broadest gauge of
> inflation, rose 0.1 percent in August after falling 0.3 percent in July.
> Economists had expected a 0.2 percent increase (Reuters, The New York
> Times, page C13).
>
> U.S. inflation at the consumer level remained almost a no-show in August,
> largely the result of falling energy prices. At an annual rate, consumer
> prices were unchanged during the past 3 months, according to the Labor
> Department. The core index, which excludes food and energy items, rose
> 0.2 percent in August, the same rate recorded in July. The benign
> inflation picture will give Federal Reserve policymakers free rein to
> continue cutting interest rates. Housing prices, which account for 40
> percent of the index, rose 0.3 percent after being unchanged in July (The
> Wall Street Journal, page A2).
>
> The nation's largest chains, including Wal-Mart Stores, Kmart and Sears,
> Roebuck & Company reported that spending patterns returned to near normal
> levels over the weekend (The New York Times, page C1).
>
> America's trade deficit narrowed slightly to $28.8 billion in July, as a
> big drop in imports of cars, oil and other foreign products offset the
> biggest fall in U.S. exports on record. The U.S. deficit with Western
> Europe set a record and the imbalances with both China and Japan widened
> significantly. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the July
> trade deficit was 0.8 percent smaller than the June imbalance of $29.1
> billion. However, the improvement, rather than signaling economic
> strength, was a reflection of widespread weakness both in the United
> States, which has been struggling with a pronounced economic slowdown for
> more than a year, and in the rest of the world, which has also begun to
> slow sharply (Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press,
> http://www.nandotimes.com/business/story/84838p-1141861c.html).
>
> The inflation-adjusted earnings of most U.S. workers rose 0.3 percent on a
> seasonally adjusted basis in August, according to figures from the Bureau
> of Labor Statistics. BLS said the August increase reflected a 0.3 percent
> gain in average weekly earnings and no change in hours worked. According
> to the agency, hours worked have not increased since January among
> production and nonsupervisory employees, the broad category covered by the
> real earnings data (Daily Labor Report, page D-13).
>
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