[PEN-L:1252] BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D]

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BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1998

Consumer confidence declined in August for the second consecutive month,
reflecting concerns about future economic growth, the Conference Board
says....  August's was the first back-to-back decline in the index since
September-October 1996....  "Some of the disenchantment may have been
caused by turmoil in the financial markets, both in the U.S. and abroad,
and to recent attacks on the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya," says
the associate director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research
Center....  (Daily Labor Report, page A-2)_____August's decline in
consumer confidence was larger than Wall Street analysts had expected
(Washington Post, page C12)_____Consumer confidence fell this month, but
held close to a 30-year high....  (New York Times, page D3)_____Consumer
confidence in the economy declined for the second straight month as
global politician and financial turbulence made the usually unshakable
U.S. consumer queasy....  (Wall Street Journal, page A2)

A nationwide survey of employees indicates that about 70 percent of them
believe their company is a "good" or a "great" place to work.  The
study, commissioned by the Minneapolis employment consulting firm In
Touch, also indicates, however, that employees believe their companies
could be doing more to retain and attract workers.  The survey also
notes employees have concerns about their ability to communicate with
company management....  (Daily Labor Report, page A-11).

Medium and large U.S. employers experienced a 3.5 percent increase in
premiums for health insurance coverage in 1997-98, much lower than
earlier predictions of a 5 to 10 percent increase, according to a study
by the consulting firm the Hay Group.  The increase was much closer to
the general CPI increase of 1.7 percent than expected.  The study is
based on a survey of the health benefit plans of more than 1,000 medium
and large U.S. companies....  (Daily Labor Report, page A-7).

The weakening of Asian currencies has not yet produced the flood of
Asian imports into the United States that many analysts had expected.
Instead, growth has slowed--while the growth of European imports has
surprisingly accelerated....  ("Trendlines," Washington Post, page C11).

More than one-third of Americans over age 16 use the Internet, an
increase of more than 18 million people in nine months, according to a
new survey of online use.  The study by Nielsen Media Research and
CommerceNet estimates 70.2 million adult Americans use the Internet,
with the largest increases among blacks and American Indians and among
young adults and women over 50 in the nine months through June....
(Washington Post, page C12).

Previously owned homes were resold at a record pace during July,
encouraged by plenty of jobs and low mortgage rates.  The average
selling price of an existing home in July fell to $168,500 from
$169,200....  (New York Times, page D3)_____The frenzied pace is
expected to slow soon along with the rest of the U.S. economy....  (Wall
Street Journal, page A2). 


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