BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 1997 Sixty-nine percent of all industry categories measured by BLS report productivity gains in 1995, the agency announces ....The report covers about 40 percent -- in employment terms -- of the nonfarm business sector of the economy. In 1995, productivity advanced in 74 percent of the 111 separate manufacturing industries measured by BLS in this series. The same number of industries had productivity gains in 1994 ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-1). Wage costs in the first quarter of 1997 rose for nearly half of businesses surveyed, the National Association of Business Economists reports. The survey, conducted in March and April of 123 NABE members about business conditions in their firms, found that 45 percent reported higher labor costs in the first quarter, compared with the fourth quarter of 1996. This is the highest percentage saying labor costs rose since 1990. Nearly half of respondents (47.3 percent) reported shortages in skilled labor, while 10.7 percent said they had a hard time finding unskilled workers. This was close to levels reporting shortages in the last quarter of 1996. In the goods-producting sector, an even larger proportion of companies (52 percent) reported skilled labor shortages, and 19 percent complained about a lack of unskilled help ....The report found that, despite high industry demand, only about a quarter (24.4 percent) of respondents reported higher prices ....For those companies that did raise prices, only 30 percent were able to realize the full price increase ....The responses continue to reflect a very competitive business environment where price increases are difficult to realize ....(Daily Labor Report, page A-6). Wage data compiled by BNA in the first 16 weeks of 1997 show that the median first-year wage increases for all industries equaled 3 percent an hour ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-7). __As the federal government nears the completion of its race and ethnic review, the possible addition of a multi-racial option in the decennial census and other surveys has emerged as the most contentious issues, judging by views offered at an April 23 hearing before a House subcommittee. Supporters of adding a multi-racial category argue that the increasingly diverse U.S. population demands more options than those currently offered in everything from education and health data collection to civil rights enforcement. Opponents contend that adding a new category would impair enforcement and regulatory programs by leaving a gap in historical data used to monitor progress in a variety of areas ....(Daily Labor Report, page A-8). __For the first time in 20 years, the federal government may change the way it measures race and ethnicity, standards critical in enforcing voting rights laws, studying disease patterns, and collecting school registration statistics. A surge in immigration and a sharp increase in the number of interracial marriages in the past two decades have cast doubt on the existing standards' ability to reflect the nation's changing racial makeup. But in testimony today before a House subcommittee, federal experts clashed over the wisdom of changing the existing measurements to include, for instance, a new category: multiracial ....(New York Times, page A27). The International Monetary Fund painted a sunny picture of global economic growth this year, but at the same time urged the U.S. to continue boosting interest rates to help prevent its economy from overheating. World output will expand by 4.4 percent both this year and next, a solid jump from the 4 percent expansion registered last year and the highest since 1988, the IMF said in its semiannual World Economic Outlook ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2)_____Worldwide economic growth will accelerate again this year to its highest rate in nearly a decade, 4.4 percent, but most regions face risks that could cloud their prospects ....(New York Times, page D4)_____The IMF gave the world's economy an upbeat assessment, predicting that growth will continue and inflation will remain at its lowest level in 30 years ....Globalization -- the integration of trade, finance, and information that is creating a single global market and culture -- is the main theme of the report ....(USA Today, page 1B).
