BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1997 __The CPI-U edged up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in March, and the core rate rose a moderate 0.2 percent, the Labor Department reports. A sharp 1.7 percent drop in energy prices and flat food costs helped keep down the CPI-U increase in March. The CPI-U has risen 2.8 percent in the year ended in March. Flat housing costs and falling apparel prices helped keep the core rate to a moderate increase in March. For the March 1996-97 period, the core rate has risen 2.5 percent .... (Daily Labor Report, page D-1). __For the past several months, consumer have been snapping up new cars, furniture, airline tickets, and all sorts of other items, but, despite the spending spree and an overall strong economy, the prices Americans pay still aren't rising very much. The latest evidence of that come when the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose just 0.1 percent last month, unexpectedly good news that triggered a surge in stock and bond prices that mirrored last Friday's big sell-off following other, less favorable, reports ....(Washington Post, page A1). __Consumer prices edged up a mere 0.1 percent in March, the government said in a report that eased inflation fears and ignited a Wall Street rally that was also fueled by some strong corporate earnings reports ....Inflation at the consumer level last month was held in check by moderation in grocery prices and by the most substantial decline in energy prices in nine months. Indeed, there would have been no increase at all if airline fares had not jumped because a 10 percent tax was restored ....(New York Times, pages A1,D1). __The inflation news isn't so bad after all, says the Wall Street Journal (page A2) ....Inflation was tamed last month by a sharp drop in energy costs .... The inflation-adjusted earnings of most U.S. workers eased to a 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted increase in March after rising by 2.3 percent in February, BLS reports ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-14). The Federal government's multiyear review of race and ethnic categories used in a broad range of agencies has entered its final stages, with completion projected for October, a senior Clinton administration official says. A final public comment period will begin about July 1. Coordinated by the Office of Management and Budget, the race and ethnic review began in 1994 and covers all types of federal functions -- including the collection of economic statistics and data used by regulatory and enforcement agencies. It is the first review of OMB's Directive 15 since it was established in 1977. Critics of the current categories argue that the U.S. population has become increasingly diverse in the last 20 years, necessitating a change in race and ethnic designations used across the government. Currently, official federal data series and administrative agencies offer just five choices in the surveys: white, black, American Indian, Aleut or Eskimo, Asian or Pacific Islander, or other ....(Daily Labor Report, page A-9). __The American Management Association has released a survey indicating that highly skilled workers have become more difficult for employers to find. The data are based on responses from 402 human resources executives surveyed at the AMA's annual human resources conference. Almost half (47 percent) of the responding employers said that skilled workers are in short supply. However, while skilled talent in technical positions is particularly hard to find, there is an adequate or even abundant number of available workers in other types of jobs ....In forecasting through the year 2000, 55 percent of respondents said they expect long-term scarcities in skilled staffing ....(Daily Labor Report, page A-3). __The job market is suited to the seekers, and, with resume racks thinning out, employers are trying perks and pay raises to find and keep workers ....Human resource executives are noting a startling change from the recent days of downsizing: Instead of having to shed excess workers, many of these executives are finding themselves with too few employees ....(Washington Post, page C9). Business inventories rose 0.3 percent in February, while sales overall gained 1.4 percent, the Commerce Department says ....(Daily Labor Report, page A-2; Wall Street Journal, page A2).
