Fwd: [PEN-L:14846] BLS Daily Report

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Dec 22 08:22:06 PST 1999



> BLS DAILY REPORT, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1999:
>
> Today's News Release: "Contingent and Alternative Employment
> Arrangements, February 1999" indicates that the proportion of U.S. workers
> holding contingent jobs was about unchanged between February 1997 and
> February 1999. Contingent workers are persons who hold jobs that are
> temporary or not expected to last. Using three alternative measures,
> contingent workers comprised 1.9 to 4.3 percent of total employment in
> February 1999. In February 1997, the estimates were not much different,
> ranging from 1.9 to 4.4 percent; in February 1995, the first year the
> survey was conducted, the estimates ranged from 2.2 to 4.9 percent. The
> period between February 1995 and February 1999 was one of strong
> employment growth and falling unemployment
>
> Gasoline prices dipped a half-cent nationwide, to an average of $1.3412
> per gallon, thanks to continued stabilization of oil prices and lower
> demand, said industry analyst Trilby Lundberg. The Lundberg Survey of
> 10,000 gas stations also said that the average price nationwide has risen
> 31.12 cents since January 8, and that the average price for the year was
> $1.2184 (The Washington Post, page E1).
>
Older executives gain confidence, says The Wall Street Journal's "Work Life" feature (page 1). Exec-U-Net, Conn., finds that 36 percent of executives aged 51 to 55 cite age bias as a factor in the job hunt, down from 58 percent last year. .
> Republicans and Democrats alike seem to agree that markets, alone, are
> wise enough to set wages, writes Louis Uchitelle in The New York Times
> (December 19, page 4, "Week in Review"). Uchitelle does say that although
> both parties bow to the efficiencies of the markets, they acknowledge that
> income inequality remains a problem. Wage-setting and labor power, once
> deeply divisive election year issues, are barely mentioned. The only
> question is what is the right tax incentive or social program when the
> markets require a helping hand. Illustrating the article is a graph that
> indicates that a strong economy has left slightly more than 1 percent of
> the workforce earning the minimum wage. It shows the percentage of wage
> and salaries workers earning the minimum wage, and the source of the data
> is given as BLS.
>



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