WEDNESDAY, March 20 RELEASED TODAY: Respirators had been used by employees in about 10 percent of the private industry workplaces surveyed in late 2001. In nearly half of these 619,400 establishments where respirators were used, they were used by employees on a voluntary basis only, and, in about 12 percent, they were used only when required because of emergencies. These data are from a special survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The U.S. trade deficit expanded sharply in January, suggesting the economy hasn't strengthened quite as much as expected in the first quarter. The seasonally adjusted trade deficit for January swelled 15.4% to $28.5 billion from a revised $24.7 billion in December, the Commerce Department said. The trade gap in December, however, was surprisingly narrow, because imports had sharply contracted, an aberration that reversed itself in January ( The Wall Street Journal, page A2; and The New York Times, page C3). Despite signs of an economic rebound, the Labor Department reports that local job markets remain soft. Roughly 80% of 331 metropolitan areas posted January jobless rates higher than they were during the same period a year earlier. Among the 50 largest metro areas in the nation, Portland, Ore., saw the highest rate at 8.6%, while Orange County, Calif., had the lowest at 3.8%. San Jose, Calif., the center of tech-heavy Silicon Valley, turned in the sharpest year-over-year gain with unemployment soaring to 7.5% from 1.7% ( Robert Gavin, The Wall Street Journal, page B14). The Federal Reserve signaled to investors, businesses and consumers today that they should prepare for higher interest rates this year if the economy continues its speedy recovery. At a meeting of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank voted to hold rates steady, as it did at its meeting in January. But the Fed laid the groundwork to begin reversing some of the 11 rate cuts it carried out last year as the economy sank into recession ( The New York Times, page C1). Federal Reserve officials left their interest rate target unchanged at a meeting yesterday and signaled that they may be in no rush to raise rates as long as the economic outlook remains uncertain. The central bank's top policymaking group, the Federal Open Market Committee, said the economy "is expanding at a significant pace" but then noted that the rate of growth later this year "is still uncertain." ( The Washington Post, page E1). DUE OUT TOMORROW: Consumer Price Index--February 2002; and Real Earnings--February 2002
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