BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2000
RELEASED TODAY: In the first quarter of 2000, there were 1,268 mass layoff
actions by employers that resulted in the separation of 232,874 workers from
their jobs for more than 30 days. Both the number of layoff events and the
number of separations were sharply lower than in January-March 1999, with
separations at their lowest level in 2 years. With this release, the mass
layoff statistics program has reported statistics for 5 years. ...
Data compiled by the Bureau of National Affairs in the first 22 weeks of
2000 show a weighted average first-year increase of 3.7 percent in newly
negotiated contracts, compared with 2.6 percent in the same period in 1999.
Manufacturing contracts provided a weighted average increase of 3.3 percent,
compared with 2.7 percent in 1999. Excluding construction contracts, the
nonmanufacturing industry weighted average increase was 3.9 percent,
compared with an average of 2.3 percent one year earlier. ... (Daily Labor
Report, page D-4).
The index of leading economic indicators edged down 0.1 percent in April,
pointing to a continuation of the economic expansion, but at a slower pace,
the Conference Board reports. After rising 0.1 percent in March, the
leading index declined to 106 percent of its 1996 base in April. ... (Daily
Labor Report, page D-3).
Sales of new homes tumbled 5.8 percent in April, while a key index of future
economic activity slipped 0.1 percent, two signs that the Federal Reserve's
higher interest rates are beginning to slow the economy. ... (Washington
Post, page E1)_____New home sales fell in April to their lowest level in 5
months, indicating that six increases in interest rates by the Federal
Reserve over the last year may be starting to cool the economy. ... The
biggest slumps were in the Midwest and West. A month earlier, sales rose
5.8 percent. ... Purchasing managers in the Chicago area also reported
today that their factory index fell in May, and the Conference Board's index
of leading economic indicators dropped in April, for the second time in 3
months. ... (New York Times, page C12)_____Fresh economic data suggest that
some sectors of the economy have plateaued. But market watchers wondering
whether the long-awaited slowdown has begun will have to wait for clearer
signals due later this month about the strength of consumer spending, a key
economic driver. New home sales fell an unexpectedly hard 5.8 percent in
April, as the housing sector felt the growing pinch of rising interest
rates. ... Another sign of possible slowing in economic growth showed up in
the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, which is designed to forecast
business conditions 3 to 6 months ahead. The index slipped 0.1 percent in
April, driven down by a decline in manufactures' orders for consumer goods.
... Separately, a report showed that Internet commerce continued to grow in
the first months of 2000. In the first quarter of the year, customers
bought a nonseasonally adjusted $5.26 billion of goods such as televisions,
books, and stereos over the Internet, an increase of 1.2 percent from the
$5.20 billion in sales recorded in the closing months of 1999, the Commerce
Department said. ... (Wall Street Journal, page A2).
More than half of tax code Section 401(k) plan participants who changed jobs
in 1999 cashed out their Section 401(k) balance in lieu of rolling it into
another tax-deferred cash arrangement, according to Hewitt Associates. The
analysis of 170,000 defined contribution plan distributions to participants
aged 20-59 showed that 68 percent opted for lump-sum cash payments when they
changed jobs. Twenty-six percent of plan participants rolled their balances
into individual retirement accounts; and 6 percent of plan participants
moved their money into their new employer's plans. ... (Daily Labor Report,
page A-6).
DUE OUT TOMORROW: The Employment Situation: May 2000
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