BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 Average annual pay of U.S. workers rose by 3.4 percent in 1995, ahead of the 2.2 percent increase of 1994, the Labor Department reports. Washington, D.C., again led the nation in average annual pay ....The mining industry -- comprising less than 1 percent of private sector employment -- had the largest annual average pay. It was followed by finance, insurance, and real estate ....(Daily Labor Report, pages 2,D-1). Firms' demand for managers is growing despite layoffs and restructurings -- Despite continued layoffs and corporate restructuring that resulted in approximately 250,000 job cuts since last January, the nation's demand for managers is booming. Managerial employment, which includes managers, executives, and administrators, totaled 17.7 million workers for the second quarter of 1996, a 4.7 percent increase from the year-earlier period, according to BLS. That compares with only a 1.3 percent increase in overall employment over the same period. Unemployment among managerial workers is also approaching historic lows ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2). Starting in January, the Treasury will offer 10-year "inflation protection notes" whose value is designed to rise with inflation, thus guaranteeing investors a "real" rate of return on their money ....Some financial planners and other experts said the tax treatment announced by Treasury will make the notes unappealing to some investors ....The value of the principal will be pegged to the government's consumer price index and adjusted twice a year to reflect any changes ....(Washington Post, page D12; Washington Times, page B7)_____The inflation-proof bonds announced yesterday do not banish risk so much as exchange one kind of risk for another, experts say. As a result, they are likely to appeal mainly to highly conservative investors and could even prove a tax trap for the unwary ....Inflation will be measured by the most popular yardstick -- the CPI-U -- without any adjustment for recurring seasonal variation. There will also be a lag so that, for example, the rate to be applied on Dec. 1 is the CPI for September ....(New York Times, page B1)_____U.S. bonds to be tied to the CPI. Long-awaited project will be sold only in 10-year note form initially ....The CPI is by far the most-used inflation gauge in the U.S., though it has been criticized in recent years by the Federal Reserve and others for overstating inflation ....(Wall Street Journal, page C1). The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the global economy will grow 3.8 percent this year, picking up to 4.1 percent in 1997. U.S. growth is expected to be around 2.3 percent next year ....(Daily Labor Report, page A-4)_____The global economy has shaken off weakness in Western Europe and is expected to achieve healthy growth through next year. The IMF, in its semiannual report card on the economy, gave good grades to the emerging-market countries, saying they are reaping the benefits of an often-painful return to fundamentals undertaken in recent years ....The report said the industrial countries showed uneven results. The United States had robust growth and low unemployment, but Germany and France lagged behind. However, it said the outlook for Europe was improved as exchange rates came back into line, setting the stage for more activity ....(Reuters story: Washington Post, page D12) _____The IMF said it expects annual growth among industrial nations of around 2.5 percent until the year 2000. But it suggested the U.S. raise interest rates to head off inflation....(New York Times, page D5)
