This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. ------ =_NextPart_000_01BD6A0E.C4801D30 BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1998 Import prices fell 1 percent in March, the fifth straight monthly decline, as petroleum prices continued their nose dive, BLS reports. Export prices were off 0.2 percent in March, the fourth consecutive monthly decline ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-1). Business inventories advanced 0.6 percent in February, buoyed by a surge in wholesale stocks, and sales jumped 0.8 percent, the Commerce Department reports ....(Daily Labor Report, page A-10; New York Times, page D22). Inventories grew 0.6 percent in February, the biggest increase in five months, in part because they may be stockpiling cheap Asian imports .....The Labor Department said import prices, excluding fuels, fell 0.2 percent in March, the sixth consecutive monthly decline. Prices for imports from the financially troubled Asian countries continued to slide, falling 0.8 percent in March and 6.9 percent over the past 12 months ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2). __Demand for workers in information technology industries is growing rapidly and will continue to expand, according to a Commerce Department report. "An analysis of IT occupations shows that the demand for workers to fill higher-skilled IT jobs (computer engineers, scientists, and system analysts) is expected to grow from 874,000 in 1998 to 1.8 million by 2006," the report says. Information technology, and particularly the Internet, has expanded beyond all expectations in recent years. In 1994, only 3 million people used the Internet ....In 1998, 100 million people worldwide are using the Internet ....This rapid expansion has swelled the need for skilled IT workers. Many observers believe advances in information technology driven by growth of the Internet have contributed to a healthier than expected economy .....(Daily Report, page A-2). _____"Who, What, Where: Putting the Internet in Perspective" in The Wall Street Journal (page B12) says that about 62 million people in the U.S. use the Net, according to IntelliQuest Information Group, Inc. of Austin, Tex. That figure represents about 30 percent of U.S. residents age 16 and older .... Federal Highway Administration data show that 26 percent of households below the poverty level don't have cars, while only 4 percent of higher-income homes lack them. That fact limits job options for the working poor, since many jobs are in the suburbs, says an FHWA publication ....(Wall Street Journals "Business Bulletin," page A1). 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