Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.trends,americast.usa-today.trends From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: trends Thu, Oct 29 1992 Date: Thu, 29 Oct 92 04:43:05 EST Message-ID: 10-29 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update Oct. 29, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network MANY WORKERS RETIRE EARLY: Wyatt, a benefits consulting firm, says 19 of the USA's 50 largest companies offered early retirement to employees in 1990 or 1991. The American Management Association surveyed 836 members: 34% offered early retirement the past year vs. 19% in 1989; 29% offered voluntary buyouts vs. 19.5% in 1989. Meanwhile, salary cuts and short work weeks dropped. FOREIGN WORKERS OUTNUMBER JOBS: Foreign workers are entering the U.S. job market in greater numbers than jobs are being created, according to Immigration and Naturalization Service statistics. In the first half of 1922, the number of U.S. jobs grew by 846,000. In spite of this, the number of unemployed American workers increased by 1.1 million. This is caused by U.S. immigration policy. (For more, see special Immigration package below.) MANY WORKERS LACK BASIC SKILLS: Poor reading ability, experts say, is producing a work force woefully lacking in the skills employers need. It's a familiar problem in industry, says Marty Rodriguez, human resources director at R.M. Holt Inc. in Lodi, Calif. Her company, which manufactures rubber goods, tests applicants for basic skills, including following directions, figuring simple math and using a clock. SCHOOLS RESPOND TO CONCERNS: Schools are responding to reading concerns. The California Literature Project has created a network of 10 university-based programs to train reading teachers in the use of literature. The program is based on the idea that children respond more to interesting stories, classic novels, and fairy tales than they do to the relatively bland writing of Dick and Jane style books. HALLOWEEN PUSHED ASIDE: Hungry retailers, eager to wring a few extra dollars out of the holiday season, have again trampled tradition and hauled out Christmas decorations before Halloween. In California, The Broadway department stores currently run television commercials encouraging holiday shoppers to get an early starts. Consumer watcher Gerald Celente of The Trends Journal predicts the efforts will backfire. ANTI-INCUMBENCY ADS FLOURISH: The polls may show the presidential race in a virtual dead heat between Bill Clinton and President George Bush, but a wave of anti-incumbency is running through advertising: An ad for ABC Carpet & Home, running nationally Sunday in The New York Times, shows a real-estate ad for the White House. "May be available after Nov. 3 for January 1993 occupancy. Four-year (one-time renewable lease.)" CARMAKERS SHOP FOR NEW AGENCIES: BMW is driving off to a new ad agency. BMW of North America says it has put its advertising account, $85 million in annual spending, up for grabs. The autobahn has been a rough road lately: Mercedes-Benz switched ad agencies in February and British import Jaguar hired a new agency in July. All three have faced stiff challenges from Japanese luxury cars. INFECTIOUS DISEASES ON THE RISE: A report from the National Academy of Sciences says that infectious diseases are re-emerging as a major source of illness, disability and death. Until this century, they were the main cause of death in the USA. The academy says that the sudden appearance of new diseases such as AIDS - and the resurgence of old ones such as tuberculosis - are inevitable despite advances. INSURERS GOING UNDER: Hurricane Andrew left five more casualties in Florida - insurance companies that folded from overwhelming claims. "Some local companies just get overwhelmed by a storm this big, and that's why you have ... a regulatory system," Insurance Information Institute's Marc Rosenberg said Wednesday. Claims will be paid by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON IMMIGRATION: MORE FOREIGNERS GETTING JOBS: During the first half of 1992, the Immigration and Naturalization Service issued 439,000 temporary work permits for foreign workers. And 390,000 immigrants and refugees received "green cards," giving them the permanent right to work in the USA. Taking into consideration illegal aliens, there will be more foreign workers entering the job market than new jobs created. ECONOMISTS DRAW SAME CONCLUSION: The year 1992 is not atypical, according to figures published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the three-and-a-half years of the Bush administration, the number of unemployed Americans increased by 3.5 million. These government figures support the conclusions of labor economists such as Vernon Briggs of Cornell University. U.S. WORKERS HAVE HARD TIME: Donald Huddle of Rice University argues that the number of alien job-seekers entering the U.S. in recent years has exceeded the capacity of the economy to produce new jobs. This disparity diminishes economic opportunities for native-born workers and earlier immigrants. (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM