> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2001: > > On the heels of the determination that the US economy is in recession, > employers cut 331,000 workers from payrolls in November, pushing the > unemployment rate up 0.3 percentage point to 5.7 percent, according to > figures released by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. > "Job losses were widespread again in November, although the largest > declines continued to be concentrated in manufacturing and help supply > services," says BLS Acting Commissioner Lois Orr. "Since its recent peak > in March, total nonfarm employment has fallen by 1.2 million. I would note > that the March peak in payroll employment coincides with the recent > recession, as recently announced by the National Bureau of Economic > Research," she adds. (Daily Labor Report, page AA-1, Text E-1, E-3) > > The nation's jobless rate jumped to 5.7 percent last month, the highest > level in more than six years, as the recession drove employers in most > industries to shed workers and cut costs. Nearly a half million people > joined the ranks of the unemployed in November, bringing the total to 8.2 > million, the Labor Department reported. The increase from 5.4 percent in > October was evidence of the continued sharp deterioration of the job > market since the September 11 terrorist attacks. As the economy slowed > over the past year, unemployment had been rising slowly, from a > three-decade low of 3.9 percent in October 2000, before shooting up in the > past two months, when 1.1 million more people lost their jobs. (Washington > Post, December 8, 2001; page A01, > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11120-2001Dec7.html) > > The economy will pull out of recession next year, economists say, but the > recovery could be disappointingly sluggish, reminiscent of the notorious > 1991-92 "jobless recovery." Though analysts don't expect joblessness to > match its 1992 peak of 7.8 percent, they predict the rate - which jumped > to 5.7 percent Friday - will peak somewhere between 6 percent and 7 > percent next year. For an economy that experienced a 30-year low of 3.9 > percent little more than a year ago, that will feel grim. Weak growth > means a weak job market. The surprising resilience of business > productivity, which usually plummets in a recession but held at a healthy > 1.5 percent gain in the third quarter, means companies can produce more > with fewer workers. Employers are often slow to rehire workers after a > slump - unless growth booms, which it's unlikely to do. > (http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2001-12-10-recovery.htm) > > Employers, battling recession, are saving millions of dollars by slashing > employee benefits such as life insurance and retirement plans. (USA > Today, page 1A) > > The US economy might not be getting back on its feet quite as quickly as > some investors have come to believe. The unemployment rate jumped 5.7 > percent in November its highest level in more than six years, the Labor > Department said Friday. Employers cut payrolls by 331,000 on a seasonally > adjusted basis, taking the steam out of some economists' predictions that > the US economy had begun to crawl out of recession. (Wall Street Journal, > page A2) > > The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 5.7 percent last month from 5.4 > percent in October as companies eliminated more than 300,000 jobs. The > increase suggested that the recession will be more severe than many > analysts had forecast. (The New York Times, December 8, 2001, page C1) > > But will eleven cuts, likely taking the targeted federal funds rate to a > 40-year low of 1.75 percent from 6.5 percent at the start of the year, do > the trick and save the U.S. economy? Maybe not, especially after Friday's > grim unemployment report. "There's no question they will have to keep the > door open [for more cuts]," Anthony Chan, chief economist at Banc One > Investment Advisors, said Friday. "If they see further surprises on the > down side with respect to unemployment, they have to remain in play > because that has a dramatic impact on consumer confidence." It's too early > to tell how consumers took the news of 5.7 percent unemployment and the > worst two months of job losses in 20 years. Friday's reported gain in the > University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index was the result of a > survey taken before the unemployment data was released. (CNN Money, > December 10, 2001, http://money.cnn.com/2001/12/10/economy/fed_walkup) > > The unemployment rate in Canada rose to 7.5 percent in November, its > highest level since mid-1999, with large losses in computer and electronic > manufacturing and in the transportation sector offsetting gains in > retailing, Statistics Canada said. Unemployment was 7.3 percent in > October. For the second consecutive month, part-time jobs rose > significantly even as full-time employment dropped. (The New York Times, > December 8, 2001, page C3) > > Volatile oil prices fell on Monday after OPEC raised the stakes in a > gamble with independent exporters to curb excess supply on world markets. > Faced with weak demand for petroleum as the world economy slows, the > powerful OPEC cartel was pushing rival exporters to decide this week > whether they would go along with its call for output restraint. To prevent > a supply glut and price crash foreseen next year, the Organization of the > Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed last month to slash output by 1.5 > million barrels per day (bpd) if independent exporters such as Russia, > Mexico and Norway cut 500,000 bpd. (USA Today, > http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/_commodities.htm) > > A federal trade panel recommended hefty duties on steel imports today, > clearing the way for President Bush to protect troubled domestic steel > companies but almost certainly raising the price of cars, appliances and > other steel products. (The New York Times, December 8, 2001, page C1) > The picture for health insurance costs keeps getting uglier--for employers and consumers alike. Employers expect their health-care costs to rise nearly 13 percent next year, with some companies expecting to be hit with increases of 20 percent or more, according to a survey to be released today by human-resource consulting firm William M. Mercer, Inc. (Wall Street Journal, page B8)
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