BLS DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1997 __U.S. nonfarm payroll employment grew by a seasonally adjusted 49,000 in August, held down by a massive strike at United Parcel Service. The unemployment rate rose a statistically insignificant 0.1 percent to 4.9 percent. The jobless rate has remained within a narrow range of 4.8 percent and 5 percent since April. In July, the economy created an upwardly revised 365,000 jobs. The apparent August slowdown is overstated because of the effect of the 15-day UPS strike on the employment numbers ....While it directly involved 185,000 workers, "the net impact of the strike on employment, however, was smaller, perhaps about 155,000, after accounting for hiring elsewhere in the transportation industry and at the U.S. Postal Service to help meet the demand for parcel delivery," said BLS Commissioner Katharine Abraham in a statement to the JEC ...."We might have been looking at employment growth of 190,000 to 200,000 without the strike, although I would stress that this is a rough estimate," she told the committee ....(Daily Labor Report, pages D-1, E-1). __The unemployment rate remained less than 5 percent, as jobs were added across nearly every sector of the U.S. economy ....The total number of jobs increased by about 200,000 during August. That's after adjusting for the effects of the UPS strike, which economists estimated temporarily reduced payrolls by 150,000 workers ....(Washington Post, Sept. 6, page H1). __The economy created jobs at a slower pace in August as UPS strike curbed hiring. The unemployment rate went up a notch ....(New York Times, Sept. 6, page 29). __The employment report gave no indication that the economy slowed significantly last month from the rapid pace set earlier in the summer. The job market, meanwhile, remained tight while wages continued to rise ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2). With investors worldwide awaiting his every word, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, cast doubt again on the reliability of key economic statistics but drew no firm conclusions on why the economy has remained inflation-free despite strong growth and low unemployment ....In his only direct reference to the possibility that the Fed might decide to raise rates later this year to insure against an outbreak of inflation, Greenspan said that "with labor resources currently stretched tight, we need to remain alert" ....In a speech, he, however, repeated his long-held belief that the most likely explanation for the current puzzle is that the most widely used measures of productivity are not capturing the improved efficiency of American businesses ....(New York Times, Sept. 6, page 29)_____Greenspan said the central bank remains "on alert" for signs of accelerating inflation ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2). Workers in Geneva and Zurich earn the highest salaries in the world, followed by those in Copenhagen, Tokyo, and New York, according to a study by Union Bank of Switzerland. Workers in Moscow, Bombay, and Nairobi are the lowest paid ....The report concludes that the world's longest workweeks -- more than 45 hours -- can be found in Asia. Latin American workers also ranked high, with an average workweek of just over 44 hours. The shortest working hours are in Europe, where a workweek averages 39 hours, largely because of longer vacations. The bank's economists also researched the average length of time a person has to work to earn the money for a Big Mac, a product that varies little around the globe. Fast-food fans in North America came out best in the rankings, having to work only 12 minutes to buy the McDonald's hamburger, compared with a global average of 37 minutes (Washington Post, Sept. 7, page H4). The Wall Street Journal's feature "Tracking the Economy" (page A4) has a forecast of an increase of 2.0 percent in productivity when the revised second quarter figures are released ....The forecast for the PPI is for an increase of 0.3 percent in August, following a decline of 0.1 percent in July. For employees at small firms, the managed care revolution has landed a stinging one-two punch: less choice among physicians and sharply higher out-of-pocket costs. Health insurance premium costs for employees at companies with fewer than 200 workers soared nearly five-fold to $56 a month last year from $12 in 1988, according to a study made by the Center for Survey Research for KPMG Peat Marwick. Costs for family coverage rose even more dramatically, climbing to $175 a month in 1996 from $34 in 1988 ....This experience contrasts sharply with that of employers who overall have seen the rate of health care inflation plunge in recent years, with annual increases of 1 to 2 percent compared with double-digit cost increases in the early 1990's ....(Wall Street Journal, page B2) DUE OUT TOMORROW: Productivity and Costs: Revised Second Quarter 1997
