BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1996 RELEASED TODAY: Based on revised estimates, a total of 4.2 million workers were displaced between January 1993 and December 1995 from jobs that they had held for at least three years. The number of displaced workers was slightly below the level recorded two years earlier in a survey that covered the period from January 1991 to December 1995 .... The median real weekly earnings of the nation's 92.7 million full-time wage and salary workers dipped 1.1 percent in the third quarter of 1996, compared with 1995's third quarter, BLS reports (Daily Labor Report, pages 2,D-3). In current dollars, the median weekly earnings actually rose from $479 to $488 between the third quarter of 1995 and the third quarter of 1986, a 1.9 percent rise. In the same period, however, the CPI -U rose 3 percent. In constant 1982 dollars, median weekly earnings edged down from $302 to $299 .... __New unemployment insurance claims filed with state agencies declined 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted total of 320,000 in the week ended Oct. 19, according to figures from the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration (Daily Labor Report, page D-1; The Washington Post, page F2). The week ended October 19 included the federal Columbus Day holiday, which closed most state offices and could have affected the figures, analysts say. Often after claims decline during a holiday week, they rebound the following week .... __Prices of Treasury securities fell yesterday, after a sharp drop in weekly jobless claims pointed to persistent strength in the nation's labor markets ....(New York Times, "Credit Markets," page D15, Reuters story). In addition to the Columbus Day holiday, economists said the ripple effects of the recent strike by Canadian auto workers against GM in Canada also might have had an impact on the data. Regardless of any distortions, many in the market said they expected claims to bounce back from their low levels next week .... __The drop in jobless claims sent the 4-week moving average to 331,250, which is close to the lowest levels since 1989. That, combined with an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent, makes for a tight labor market that bond investors worry will eventually cause an acceleration in inflation ....(Wall Street Journal, pages A2,C17). Loan demand remains strong among lower- and middle-income consumers, despite widespread fears that U.S. households are choked by debt ....(Wall Street Journal, page A2).
