BLS DAILY REPORT, TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 1997
RELEASED TODAY:
CPI -- On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U rose 0.1 percent
in March, following an increase of 0.3 percent in February. The food
index, which advanced 0.3 percent in February, was unchanged in March
....The energy index registered its first decrease since August
....Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.2 percent, the same as
in February. Airline fares increased 4.5 percent in March, following
declines of 3.2 and 2.6 percent in January and February, respectively.
This advance was essentially offset by a downturn in the index for
apparel and upkeep and a smaller increase in shelter costs ....
REAL EARNINGS -- Real average weekly earnings increased by 0.1
percent from February to March after seasonal adjustment, according to
preliminary data. This gain was due to a 0.4 percent increase in
average hourly earnings. The rise was offset by a 0.3 percent
decrease in average weekly hours and a 0.1 percent increase in the
CPI-W ....From March 1996 to March 1997, real average weekly earnings
grew by 2.6 percent ....
Three-quarters of manufacturing recruiters surveyed by the American
Management Association say it takes longer or far longer than it did
three years ago to fill professional and technical jobs. Fewer than
one in 10 say job searches are shorter. Search budgets, too, have
climbed (Wall Street Journal, "Work Week" column, page A1).
Company managers are trying to rebuild their credibility with
employees in the wake of drastic changes in the business environment
that have eroded loyalty and morale, according to a Conference Board
report. Nearly two-thirds of the 92 company managers the board
surveyed in the U.S. and Europe reported that once-familiar
paternalistic relationships that offered job security in exchange for
employee loyalty are a thing of the past. A similar proportion said
they are faced with a "reservoir of mistrust that has built up during
years of upheaval and restructuring in business" ....Skills and
performance are replacing dedication and loyalty as conditions for
continued employment, but companies find it difficult to create a new
work environment that will motivate employees and spur productivity,
the report suggests ....Nearly two-third of the survey respondents
reported revamping or strengthening their communication efforts to
emphasize changes in the employment relationship ....(Daily Labor
Report, page A-4).
__Doctors across the country are using a new strategy in their
increasingly bitter battle against the managed care industry. They
are unionizing ....More doctors are becoming salaried employees of
hospitals, large groups, and other health care providers; 45.4 percent
were salaried employees in 1995, compared with 24.2 percent in 1983.
In 1975, 15,000 doctors and dentists were in unions; in 1995, 44,000
were ....(USA Today, page 3A).
__Graduate assistants at the University of Illinois say they're
employees and want a union. The University says they are students,
and their jobs are part of their education ....About 20,000 of the
nation's estimated 100,000 graduate assistants are part of unions on a
dozen campuses, and at least eight campuses are working toward
unionization, says the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions. Several
trends have converged to create conditions for a resurgence of
interest in unions: Graduate students take longer to earn degrees and
more enter graduate programs at a later age. Those factors make
health care needs especially important, yet many colleges offer only
student benefits designed for undergraduates. One way universities
can keep costs down is to assign more responsibility to graduate
students and adjunct faculty, while also reducing full-time faculty.
The Internet has created enormous potential for graduate assistants
around the country to support one another and share ideas ....(USA
Today, page 8D).
