BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1997 RELEASED TODAY: Preliminary seasonally-adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the first quarter were: 2.1 percent in the business sector and 2.0 percent in the nonfarm business sector. In both sectors, first-quarter productivity gains were larger than those posted in the previous three quarters. In manufacturing, productivity changes in the first quarter were: 3.1 percent in manufacturing; 3.4 percent in durable goods manufacturing; and 3.5 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing .... The robust U.S. economy is poised for even stronger growth the next six months ....The National Association of Purchasing Management says they expect the prices of the goods they buy for their corporations to rise 0.7 percent this year, a signal that inflation is not likely to accelerate sharply. In the December survey, members predicted no change in those costs this year. The managers also expect the costs of labor and fringe benefits to rise a net 2.4 percent this year, below the 2.8 percent increase in employment costs that they expected in the December survey ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2). Factory orders slipped 1.6 percent in March, the largest drop in seven months, pulled down by declines in aircraft, motor vehicles, and communications equipment, the Commerce Department said ....(Washington Post, page C10; Wall Street Journal, page A2). Orders placed with factories fell, indicating that the manufacturing economy might be cooling. And inventories increased by 0.2 percent in March after having risen in February, suggesting that production may have outpaced demand. But a survey of purchasing managers found that they expected corporate revenue to rise 7 percent this year as the economy continues to grow solidly with only modest inflation ....(New York Times, page A2). The government's "leading statistics official" Everett M. Ehrlich, 48, will leave his post as Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs at the end of the month to set up a Washington, D.C., consulting firm. He cited financial reasons for being unable to commit to another four years at the agency, which would involve the 2000 Census. He pointed to two main accomplishments: Refocusing the statistical system to capture rapid economic change and re-engineering the Census by, for example, installing sampling methods that are expected to be used to count nonrespondents ....(New York Times, page D5; Washington Post, page A19).
