BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2000
February marked the second consecutive month that all regions and all states
reported jobless rates less than 6 percent, BLS announces. ... (Daily Labor
Report, page D-1).
Unable to find enough workers in the booming economy, American corporations
are trying to expand the labor pool. Until recently, employers had met
their labor needs by hiring people who were already employed, or at least
wanted to work. But as this pool shrinks, they are increasingly recruiting
from among the 36 million working age people in the United States who had
not sought a job, or even thought about taking one. ... Most college
students now work part time, and recruiting is also being stepped up among
the urban poor, retirees, homemakers, men and women mustering out of the
military service, the handicapped, women coming off welfare, and illegal
immigrants not already counted in the labor pool. People with jobs are
being recruited to moonlight in second jobs, and part-timers are adding
hours more easily than in the past. To get workers, some companies even
relocate to pockets of relatively high unemployment. ... Alan Greenspan,
Fed Chairman, argues that the pool of people still available to take jobs
has dwindled to the point that employers will have to pay higher wages to
compete for workers, and then will push up prices to cover the higher labor
costs. ... But his estimate of the number of people still available for
jobs relies on the Labor Department's monthly employment surveys, which do
not count as available the people who say they are not interested in
working. But many of these people are now being recruited. ... Certainly
inflationary wage increases are not evident in national wage statistics. ...
A chart credited to BLS shows the "shrinking labor pool" (Louis Uchitelle
in New York Times, March 26, page A1).
U.S. consumer confidence fell more than forecast in March, as expectations
for the economy later this year sank to a 5-month low, the Conference Board
reports. The index gauging current conditions rose after slipping last
month, while the measure of consumer expectations for the next 6 months
dropped to the lowest level since October.... (Washington Post, page
E11)_____The index that measures consumer expectations for the next 6 months
dropped amid higher oil and gasoline prices and volatile stocks. ... (New
York Times, page C14)_____Uncertainty about the impact of recent stock
market volatility, rising interest rates, and soaring energy prices rattled
U.S. households this month. The numbers suggest consumer spending, which
accounts for nearly two-thirds of overall economic activity, may begin to
slow slightly in the next few months. Still, with incomes rising and the
job market remaining extremely tight, analysts said consumer demand growth
is likely to remain at or near its current torrid pace. ... (Wall Street
Journal, page A2)
Companies participating in a nationwide survey expect their health care
costs to increase by an average of 8.6 percent this year, Duke University
and a business association (Financial Executives Institute) announce.
According to the survey results, the largest increases are expected by
communications and media companies. ... (Daily Labor Report, page A-9).
One out of two American workers reports that on-the-job fatigue interferes
with the quantity of their work, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
... (Daily Labor Report, page A-11).
Since the beginning of 1998, oil prices have swung wildly, but so far the
downs-and-ups have not had a major effect on the pace of inflation outside
the energy sector. ... Many companies have not passed their higher costs on
to customers, but that could change. Though surging fuel prices and rising
costs for chemicals, plastics, resins, and other products have driven up
expenses for many businesses, not all industries or companies have been
affected equally. And those that have suffered have not, by and large,
passed along the higher costs, in part because global competition and a
relatively strong dollar have made it unwise to raise prices. ... (New York
Times, page C1).
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