BLS DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 1997: In a comparison of nine industrial economies, only Germany and Japan had greater increases in manufacturing productivity than the United States in 1996, BLS reports. "U.S. productivity growth in 1996 resulted from a combination of a 2.7 percent increase in output and a 0.5 percent decline in labor input, as measured by hours worked," BLS said (Daily Labor Report, page D-1). The Washington Post's "Odd Jobs" feature (August 17, page H5) carries a Reuters item describing a study by two university economists that indicates employers are turning down many black applicants for jobs in sales and related occupations where they would have to deal with predominantly white customers. According to BLS data, black workers make up 10.7 percent of the labor force but only 7.9 percent of those employed in sales jobs. Moreover, said BLS economist Tom Hale, blacks tend to be "overrepresented" in the lowest-paying sales jobs. For example, 16.6 percent of whites in sales work as cashiers, compared with 38 percent of blacks. A typical white salesperson earns $652 per week; a black salesperson $417 per week, BLS figures showed. Negotiators for both sides say they are making process in their marathon talks to resolve the Teamsters strike against United Parcel Service. At the same time, as the strike enters its third week today, both sides are sending out signals that they are preparing to turn on the heat if a settlement isn't reached soon (The Wall Street Journal, page A3). The Wall Street Journal's "Tracking the Economy" feature (page A4) says that initial jobless claims for the week of August 16, to be released Thursday, are expected to reach 325,000, according to the Technical Data Consensus Forecast. Initial jobless claims totaled an actual 316,000 the previous week.
