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

[Doug Henwood]

>  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.
>