BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1997 The index of forward-looking economic indicators was unchanged in June, after rising 0.3 percent in May, the Conference Board reports. The New York-based board said five of the 10 leading economic indicators rose in June. The most significant increases were for stock prices and money supply. The most significant decreases were average weekly initial claims for state unemployment insurance, average factory workweek, and interest rate spread ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-1; Wall Street Journal, page A2)_____Analysts had forecast a 0.4 percent increase in the index, which is designed to forecast economic activity six to nine months in advance (Washington Post, page D9)_____The index slowed markedly in the latest quarter, perhaps signaling that any rebound in growth in this year's second half would be modest at best. Except for a tiny April decline, June's performance was the weakest since October ....(New York Times, page D4) UPS's proposal to set up its own pension fund, replacing a Teamsters union plan, is at the heart of the union's first nationwide strike against the No. 1 package-delivery company, according to the Wall Street Journal (page A2). However, in a separate article on the same page, the Journal says that the strike this week spotlights one of corporate America's favorite cost-cutting strategies of the 1990s, the growing use of part-time workers. The Teamsters Union is demanding, among other things, that the nation's largest delivery service reduce its dependence on lower-paid part-time workers by turning them into full-time employees. So far, UPS has resisted major changes in the composition of its work force. However the negotiations turn out, economists say one thing is clear: Most companies are unlikely to abandon a strategy that has produced so many benefits for them. Not only has the use of part-time workers let U.S. companies become more competitive world-wide by reducing their labor costs, but the practice also has helped to hold down wages, keeping inflationary pressures in check. Currently, more than 23 million U.S. workers are employed part time, which amounts to about 18 percent of all workers. That's up from 14 percent of total employment in 1968. For the most part, economists say the trend has been positive ....But the benefits of using part-timers have come at a cost to the economy as well. Workers in general have been less open with their pocketbooks because wages have remained low, they remain anxious about job security as they see more permanent jobs filled with part-timers, and more and more of the American public is without health and other benefits. The Labor Department said last week that only 19 percent of part-time workers have health insurance, compared with 77 percent of full-time workers. And fewer than half of the part-time workers have paid vacations and holidays ....Labor Department surveys show that only about 20 percent of part-time workers -- or about 3 percent of all workers -- really want full-time jobs. These are the so-called involuntary part-timers ....Graphs show part-time employees as a percentage of the total employed since 1970 and voluntary part-time workers in selected industries as a percentage of the total voluntary part-time work force, 1993 data. Source is given as BLS. "At UPS, part-timers not happy with pay and benefits," says an AP story in the Washington Times (page B9) ....Nearly 20 percent of American workers are employed part time, according to BLS, which defines such work as 35 hours or fewer per week ....The AP story says that only 16 percent of part-time employees receive health coverage from their employers, compared with 61 percent of full-timers .... Hong Kong's housing costs and strong currency have made it the second-most expensive city for foreigners to live, according to a survey by the Geneva-based Corporate Resources Group. Eight of the 10 priciest cities for expatriates are in Asia, including top-ranked Tokyo; No 4, Osaka, Japan; and No. 5, Beijing. The only European city in the top five was Moscow, at No. 3 (Washington Post, page D9). DUE OUT TOMORROW: National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1996
