10B
Wednesday, April 26, 1995
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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TOMORROW, APRIL 27TH! *10AM TO MIDNIGHT!
*We will be closed from 5-7pm to restock merchandise through out the store.
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Wages and salaries — nearly three-fourths of total compensation — rose 3.0 percent in the year ended March 31, compared with the 2.9 percent advance a year earlier.
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Reports indicate economic revival
The Labor Department said its Employment Cost Index edged up just 2.9 percent in the year ended March 31, the smallest increase since it began tracking worker pay and benefits in 1981. The increase was held back by the slowest growth on record in the cost of benefits, such as health care.
The index is considered one of the best gauges of wage inflation pressures since employee compensation represents two-thirds of the cost of a product.
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The Associated Press
But benefit costs edged up just 2.8 percent, much less than the 4.1 percent gain in the same period in 1994 and the smallest increase since the series began.
The agreements they replaced, primarily negotiated in 1991 and 1992, had provided averaging 3 percent. Average wage increases in new contracts have been lower than those in the agreements they replaced in nine of the last 10 quarters.
tion of Realists reported sales of existing homes rebounded 5.8 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.62 million, the first increase in three months. All regions of the country shared in the gain.
The general decline was a result of more jobs becoming available, experts said.
In a separate report, the department said workers covered by union contracts negotiated in the January-March quarter won wage increases averaging just 1.9 percent annually above the term of the agreements.
Meanwhile, the National Associa-
The report attributed the slower growth to lower expenses for health care, workers' compensation, state unemployment insurance and retirement funds.
WASHINGTON — Fresh reports show labor costs rising at the slowest pace on record, consumer confidence in the economy jumping to a five-year high and falling mortgage rates helping to revive sales of existing homes.
TOPEKA — While overall unemployment rates in Kansas continued to inch downward in March, the unemployment rate in Lawrence rose 0.1 percent
The 2.9 percent increase in the Employment Cost Index was down from the 3.2 percent gain in the first quarter of 1994. Costs during the quarter rose just 0.6 percent from the previous three months, also the smallest advance on record.
The Associated Press
Analysts said the reports yesterday were consistent with the Federal Reserve's goal of a slower but still-growing economy and low inflation.
The unemployment rate, or the number of people seeking active employment, is different than the jobless rate, which is a measure of all able-bodied people who are not working. Both rates rose 0.1 percent in Lawrence in March.
Sherman said that since both the year-over-year and quarterly increases set records, they were not looking at an aberration but a trend for lower labor costs.
"We've got a very nice picture here," said economist Eugene Sherman of M.A. Shapiro & Co. in New York, who said the reports should allay fears of further Fed interestrate increases in the near future.
"We have a relatively modest unemployment rate and a fairly subdued inflation rate," said Fabian Linden, director of consumer research for the New York-based business-sponsored research group. "If you take those two ingredients, jobs and prices, these are somewhat encouraging moments."
"The figures could be a bit off in Lawrence because of the large numbers of students who purposely don't seek employment," said Kirk McClure, an associate professor of architecture and urban
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The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence in the economy rose this month to 105.5, from 100.2 in March. It was the highest level in nearly five years and the second straight monthly advance.
The real estate group said falling mortgage rates combined with a stable economy to lure consumers back into the market in March.
Employment figures skewed in Lawrence
Among the state's 13 largest cities, Emporia's unemployment rate dropped from 5.2 percent in February to 5.1 percent in March; Hutchinson went up from 5.5 percent to 5.6 percent; Kansas City, Kan., rose from 7.9 percent to 8.0 percent; Leavenworth went from 6.4 percent to 6.0 percent.
In the past year, Kansas has added more than 38,000 jobs, with construction, manufacturing of both durable and nondurable goods, transportation-public utilities, trade services and government all sharing in the growth.
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The Department of Human Resources on Monday placed the state's jobless rate at 4.7 percent, down from the 4.8 percent in February. The jobless rate in Lawrence rose from 4.4 percent to 4.5 percent.
The agency reported that 1,288,279 Kansans were working last month, an increase of 8,366 over the 1,279,896 in February.
Among the metropolitan statistical areas, Wichita's jobless rate at 5.1 percent was unchanged from February, while Topeka's rate
Also, Lenexa went from 2.7 percent to 2.8; Manhattan from 4.2 percent to 4.3; Olathe remained unchanged at 3.3 percent; Overland Park stayed at 2.6 percent; Salina rose from 4.2 percent to 4.8; Shawnee was the same at 3.4 percent; Topeka dropped from 5.6 percent to 5.3, and Wichita declined from 5.7 percent to 5.6.
dropped from 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent and Kansas City's rate on the Kansas side of the border declined from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent.
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