> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, Wednesday, DECEMBER 5, 2001: > > The Bureau of Labor Statistics says it expects total employment to > increase by 15 percent by 2010, slightly less than the 17 percent > employment growth experienced a decade earlier, BLS says in updating its > labor force and employment projections. The median age of the workforce > will continue to rise during the first decade of the 2000s, with workers > ages 46 to 64 accounting for most of the labor force. However, BLS says, > the youth labor force between the ages of 16 and 24 will continue to grow > more rapidly than the overall labor force for the first time in 25 years. > BLS says the projections were completed prior to the September 11 > terrorist attacks and it remains unclear what, if any, effect it would > have on the report (Daily Labor Report, December 4, page D-7; reprint of > "Industry Output and Employment Projections to 2010" by Jay M. Berman, an > economist in the Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment > Projections, published in the November "Monthly Labor Review", on page > E-8). > > Deferred wage increases payable in 2002 under collective bargaining > agreements currently in effect produce a weighted average wage increase of > 3.2 percent, compared with 3 percent in 2001. The deferred median increase > for 2002 is 3 percent, the same increase reported for 2001 (Daily Labor > Report, page D-1). > > Pressed by employers, some of the nation's biggest insurers are > introducing a new kind of health plan that would significantly change the > way employees are reimbursed for ordinary medical expenses, according to > The New York Times (page A1). Most working families, who have relatively > low medical bills, could save money under the plans. But those with > several thousand dollars in medical expenses could wind up paying much > more. Few experts on health care are familiar with the plans. But some > health benefits experts who do know of them warn that they could be more > unfair than current plans to people who are sick and that they could > discourage people who need care from getting it. > > Construction starts fell 1 percent in October, but the industry continued > to show more strength than the overall economy. The value of new > construction contracts dipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of > $490.1 million, spurred by a steep drop in the building of public works > and utilities, according to the latest report from F.W. Dodge, a building > research division of publisher McGraw Hill Cos. Nonresidential building, > especially hotels, rose substantially, the report said (The Wall Street > Journal, page A4). > > Layoffs continued to depress consumer confidence in all regions in > November compared with a year earlier, as the Conference Board's index > recorded its 5th straight monthly decline. Nationally, a deteriorating > labor market will damp confidence until at least next spring, > predicts Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein. Confidence in Pacific > states slipped most sharply because of cutbacks in technology and aircraft > manufacturing, says Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi (The Wall > Street Journal, page B8). > > Demand has always been strong for environmental technicians, who are > needed at Superfund sites and oil spills, among other places. But the > need is greater now, with post offices needing help dealing with > anthrax-tainted letters and companies wanting their mail rooms checked for > contamination. An army of technicians has been working on anthrax > decontamination in Washington and cleaning up toxic substances created by > burning plastic and chemicals at the World Trade Center site in New York. > For that reason, some unemployed workers are training for careers as > environmental technicians, says Joann Loviglio, Associated Press > (http://www.nandotimes.com/business/story/187547p-1816172c.html). > > Sales at major retail stores dropped last week, as typically happens after > the promotion-filled Thanksgiving week, but they were 3.1 percent higher > than in the same week of last year ( The Washington Post, page E3). > > DUE OUT TOMORROW: Productivity and Costs, Third Quarter 2001(Revised). >
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