This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. ------ =_NextPart_000_01BDA5BD.A03101C0 BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1998 RELEASED TODAY: In May, 203 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 116 areas had higher rates. Of the 19 metropolitan areas with rates below 2.0 percent, 14 were located in the Midwest and 5 were in the South. Nearly two-thirds of the 20 areas with the highest rates were in the West, with 10 of these in California.... Consumer confidence strengthened in June, after a slight drop in May, rising to its highest level in nearly three decades, the Conference Board reports.... (Daily Report, page A-1)_____Consumer confidence in the economy rose to a 29-year high, as Americans remained optimistic that the strong labor market and healthy economic growth will continue.... (New York Times, page D2)_____Consumer confidence showed that Asia's economic gloom hasn't clouded Americans' optimism.... (Wall Street Journal, page A2). The strength of the economy continued to surprise economists during the first half of the year, but Asia's financial woes, a rollback in inventory investment, and the strike at General Motors finally will cool the red hot pace of U.S. output. And that means the inflation-wary Federal Reserve, despite some signs of rising labor costs, is likely to keep monetary policy on hold for the balance of the year. That is the consensus prediction of 21 economists polled by BNA. Most forecasters say they were caught off guard by the vibrancy of economic activity during the early months of 1998, particularly the startling pace of inventory investment and consumer spending.... But other parts of the economy also stunned analysts, including still low inflation and unemployment rates.... (Daily Labor Report, page D-1). Economists agree that the increased globalization of the economy since 1979 has contributed to the growing wage inequality in America. They disagree, however, on how much globalization has contributed to the widening gap between the highest- and lowest-paid wage earners. At a Brookings Institution panel discussion, Robert Z. Lawrence, a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, said globalization contributed "at most" between 10 percent and 15 percent to the growth of inequality. But Lawrence Mishel, research director at the Employment Policy Foundation, said globalization is a much larger factor in wage disparity. Both economists and other Brookings' panelists agreed wage disparity has been increasing. This trend has been consistent since 1979, except for the last few years when a booming economy and low unemployment has somewhat ameliorated wage inequality.... (Daily Labor Report, page A-7). Small businesses pay lower wages, offer fewer benefits, and provide less job security than their larger counterparts, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute, which recommends that labor laws be extended to companies employing fewer than 50 workers. Contrary to the popular belief that small businesses are the economic engine of the nation, the report said they do no create any more jobs for their size than large firms, and their employees often are underpaid and overworked.... A spokesman for the National Federation of Independent Business questioned the report's findings, arguing that small businesses pay only slightly lower wages than large companies and provide jobs to workers who might otherwise by unemployed.... (Daily Labor Report, page A-7). 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[PEN-L:105] BLS Daily Report
Richardson_D Thu, 2 Jul 1998 09:29:28 -0400boundary="---- =_NextPart_000_01BDA5BD.A03101C0"