BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1997:

Analysts at BLS say the latest figurs show no major varieations from 
their initial finding that the experimental CPI is rising about 0.25 
percentage point less than the official CPI.  Patrick Jackman, BLS 
economist, said it is too soon to interpret what the figures on the 
major components of the experimental CPI (Food, housing, etc.) 
indicate about which types of goods and services will be appropriate 
for the geometric mean method and which will not.  "We are not going 
to have a clue until some of the tests we have put forth are in.  It 
will probably be August or September before we fan say (how different 
components are affected), he said (Daily Labor Report, page D-3).

The Employment and Training Administration reports that new claims for 
unemployment insurance benefits rose by 5,000 during the week of May 
17 to an estimated 322,000, seasonally adjusted (Daily Labor Report, 
page D-1).  __The Washington Post (page G2 and G8) says the Labor 
Department said first-time claims for jobless benefits rose less than 
expected last week, leaving the overall tally in a range that still 
indicates a strong job market. __The New York Times (page C6) carries 
an AP story that says that many analysts had expected an increase of 
about 6,000 last week. __The Wall Street Journal (page A10) reports 
that the 4-week moving average for claims -- a key barometer of 
labor-market conditions -- since it smooths out weekly fluctuations, 
rose 750 to 333,250.  Analysts said this level, though just slightly 
below the 15-week high, is still consistent with a relatively tight 
labor market.

The earnings gap between the rich and the poor has stopped widening, 
says The New York Times (page C1).  Over the last 18 months, wages at 
the low end of the spectrum have picked up.  Today they are rising 
significantly faster than the inflation rate -- faster, percentage 
terms, than the pay of middle-income Americans.  For all their lack of 
skill, low wage workers are in great demand today.  The higher wages, 
in turn, are helping to draw into the labor force more black women, 
older man, immigrants, teenagers, and Hispanic Americans.  In the last 
year, the labor force -- people working or seeking work -- has grown 
by 2.7 million, the largest annual gain in over a decade and more than 
twice the increase in the working-age population.  The surge of new 
workers, particularly at the low end, tends to keep wages from rising 
faster than they already are, and helps to explain why inflation has 
remained at a mild 3 percent a year or less.
Graphs the illustrate the article include in their credits BLS.

The Clinton administration yesterday officially launched FedStats, an 
Internet service that links computer users to statistics from more 
than 70 federal web sites.  The new World Wide Web page -- found at 
www.fedstats.gov -- provides an A to Z listing of topics.  Among the 
information you can find through the Fedstats Web site is "According 
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:  The percentage of wage and salary 
workers belonging to a union declined again in 1996, to 14.5 percent 
(The Washington Post, page A27).





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