RELEASED TODAY: In December, 305 metropolitan areas reported higher unemployment rates than a year earlier, 21 areas had lower rates, and 5 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Ten metropolitan areas had jobless rates over 10.0 percent, with seven of these in California and two along the Mexican border in other states. Only 3 areas recorded rates below 2.0 percent, compared with 43 areas in December 2000.
A measure to boost payment levels and expand unemployment benefits to part-time and newly hired workers will receive a second Senate vote the week of Feb. 4, following the proposal's narrow defeat Jan. 29 ( Daily Labor Report, page AA-1). Consumer confidence increased in January for the second consecutive month, hinting that a recovery from the recession could be near, according to the Conference Board. Confidence increased nearly three points from 94.6 in December to 97.3 in January ( Daily Labor Report, page A-4). A rise in durable-goods orders in December and an increase in consumer confidence in January have added to the likelihood that Federal Reserve policy makers, who meet today, have finished cutting interest rates for now. New orders for durable goods, or items meant to last three years or longer, rose by 2.0% after falling 6.0% in November, a drop originally estimated at 4.8%. Capital-goods orders excluding defense rose 1.3%, the third straight increase, paced by a 3.5% gain in orders for computers and electronics, suggesting business investment, the dominant factor in the recession, may have stabilized. Separately, the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence rose to 97.3 in January from a revised 94.6 in December ( The Wall Street Journal, page A2, and The New York Times, page C4). Since March, nearly 1.4 million jobs have been lost--1.1 million of them in manufacturing--as the nation tipped into recession and then suffered the shock of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which triggered waves of layoffs in the airline, hospitality and related industries. The nation's payrolls plummeted by more than 800,000 workers in October and November combined, followed by a drop of 124,000 in December. Analysts' expectations vary widely, but many expect Labor to report a small decline of 20,000 or so in January, which would be a big improvement compared with the previous months. But in recent days, a growing number of forecasters have begun to predict a rise in payrolls of up to 100,000 jobs. (This article also shows a graph charting the unemployment rate and another one charting the monthly change in non-farm payroll employment, and cites BLS as the source.) ( The Washington Post, page E1). DUE OUT TOMORROW: Employment Cost Index, December 2001
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