[PEN-L:36] BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D]

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BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1998

RELEASED TODAY:  In March 1998, there were 762 mass layoff actions by
employers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits
during the month.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from a
single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 78,210
persons.  Both the number of layoff events and initial claimants for
unemployment insurance were somewhat lower than in March 1997....  

A surge in prices for energy and food pushed up consumer prices a
seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in May, their largest increase since an
identical advance in December 1996.  The core rate remained more
subdued, rising 0.2 percent in the month.  Analysts downplayed this
acceleration in the CPI, which they attributed to unusual factors
unlikely to be repeated in coming months....  Since BLS sampled the May
market basket of goods and services to determine the CPI, evidence
indicates crude oil prices have plummeted, said BLS economist Patrick
Jackman....  (Daniel Roy in Daily Labor Report, page D-5).

Following an upwardly revised 0.3 percent advance in April and 0.4
percent gain in March, industrial production shot up 0.5 percent in May,
bolstered by a surge in the output of utilities, the Federal Reserve
reports....  (Daily Labor Report, page D-28).

Construction of new, single-family homes and apartments ebbed 0.7
percent in May, the third consecutive monthly decline, the Commerce
Department reports....  (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).

__A growing number of forecasters believe that U.S. economic growth is
about to slow sharply because of a combination of negative forces,
including the financial turmoil in several Asian nations that is causing
the U.S. trade deficit to rise, shortages of labor, an unsustainable
rise in business inventories, and a flat or falling stock market.  A
small rise in inflation from the extraordinarily low rate over the past
year could also help dampen growth, these analysts say.  For instance,
the Labor Department reported that higher prices for fresh fruits and
vegetables, tobacco, prescription drugs, and apparel helped boost
consumer prices by 0.3 percent last month, the largest monthly rise in a
year and a half....  The clearest evidence of a coming slowdown in
growth is in the manufacturing sector of the economy, where production
rose only 0.2 percent last month and thus far in 1998 has averaged only
a 0.1 percent monthly gain, the Federal Reserve reported.  Overall
industrial production, which includes output of the nation's factories,
mines, and utilities, rose 0.5 percent last month, largely because
unseasonably warm weather boosted demand for electricity.  In a separate
report, the Commerce Department said that housing starts fell 0.7
percent last month.  Analysts said that, while low mortgage interest
rates have helped keep the housing market solid, this part of the
economy isn't going to contribute much to the economy's growth this
year....  (John Berry in Washington Post, page C14).  
__Price increases for lettuce, cigarettes, gasoline, and prescription
drugs pushed up consumer inflation....  Construction starts on new homes
were down....  Production at factories, mines, and utilities rose half a
percent, the largest increase in six months....  (AP in New York Times,
page D10, and Washington Times, page B11).
__Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in May, the largest gain in 17
months, in a possible reawakening of inflation.  Housing starts stayed
strong, and output at factories, mines, and utilities jumped....
(Christina Duff in Wall Street Journal, page A2).

Real average weekly earnings increased 0.6 percent in May, seasonally
adjusted, reflecting increases in both hourly earnings and hours worked
per week, according to BLS.  The rise was partially offset by a 0.3
percent increase in the CPI-W....  (Daily Labor Report, page D-24).


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