European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 4, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page is the stars and stripes. Business news Job growth failed to push Dollar higher the Dollar failed to get As big a boost As expected last week from . Employment Fig ures that showed 463,000 new jobs created in the month of november. Despite the big growth in jobs the nation s unemployment rate still Rose 0.1 percent for the month 1o 5.4 percent of the work Force. Currency analysis who were expecting Only about a 253,000 increase in jobs in the United Stales said the final numbers weren t As great As they looked on the surface. A total of 345,000 of the new jobs were in in service sector but currency analysts said those jobs May prove to be seasonal. These Are nol necessarily full time jobs and not necessarily jobs that Are going to last said by Randy Mcclaln Tim Fox an economist with Barclays Bank in London. The employment figures were More negative than positive said an american banker in Frankfurt. \ the Dollar moved briefly up when the jobs Fig ures were first released but then it appeared for eign Exchange markets came to their senses a bit. The Dollar initially Well in 1.7430 Marks to the Dollar up from thursday s close in Europe of1.73 Marks but then it dipped again to 1.73 be fore the close of business in Frankfurt and London. The military Exchange Rale though was set Friday before the release of the jobs data. Thai rans americans dollars will fetch just As Many Marks Al Community banking facilities mondays Lilicy did at the Start of business on Friday 1.71 Marks to the Dollar. Fox thinks that might not last very Long i Hough. More tests of the Downside Are possible next week he said "1 think we will Sec the Dollar weaken before the end of the year Friday s stall of the Dollar ended what had been a decent week for the Buck. The Dollar began inching up at the Start of last week after doting the previous week below 1.72 Marks. Several factors led to the Buck s initial renewed strength. Foremost among those was the fad that the organization of Petroleum Export ing countries agreed on Oil production limits at a nov 26-27 meeting in Vienna Austria that should raise gasoline prices Al the pump in the United states and fuel inflation if the 13-Nalion Cartel can Slick with them. Another Factor that gave some initial support to the Dollar was the fact thai great Britain hiked its Basic interest Rales from 12 percent to13 percent Early last  rate hike boosted the British Pound which was trading late Friday in the neighbor Hood of 1.8575 pounds per Dollar. But it also helped the Dollar for a while against the Mark. Some currency traders theorized that rising Brit ish interest rates possibly would coax the . Federal Reserve into a discount rate hike of its own to support the Dollar and Stop investor from abandoning the Buck in favor of Sterling. Several of the biggest . Banks including Chase Manhattan Citibank and Morgan Gua Ranty Trust co. On monday hiked their prime lending rates a half Point to  percent end ing some credence to thai speculation. So tar though the Federal Reserve has t followed suit with an increase in the discount rate. And Fox for one does t think Friday s Job figures will be enough to convince the fed it must. Aci. People who were anxious for a discount rate increase Aren t going to get what they wanted be said. I morale programs face push to Cut tax support by Charlie Bowden ulary in child care said a senior army official a com Munich Bureau a Nimg Lealh. When it comes 1o morale welfare and recreation prioritizing May Well become the watchword governing budgetary decisions Al All Levels of the military Chain of command senior army and congressional official say. The pressures Are going to get immense from the standpoint of funding As we go through this budget crunch said rep Marvin Lealh a Texas who is chairman of the House armed services committee s mar subcommittee. The panel has been pressing the military to make it mar activities More self sufi Cint through improved management and More Businesslike operations. The idea is to make morale support activities ins dependent on tax Money. The purpose was not to raise prices Leath said. The ultimate purpose is to hopefully make the system belter than it is now and try to stabilize the prices in the system and give the system the ability to withstand the scrutiny that anything is going to gel that involves Money whether it s non appropriated or appropriated funds.".  the budget crunch will continue to put pressure on the military to get morale support programs into a More positive fiscal posture and the panel s actions Are an attempt to Speed that process he said. Our purpose is to try to make the systems More efficient More consumer responsive and to try to put the sys tem in a position through the coming decade where it can withstand the pressures brought on it Lealh said Lealh was in Bavaria recently to inspect the army s proposed site for a 450-room, j6s million hotel and recreation Center for the armed forces recreation enter in Garmisch West Germany a project finally approved last week. Despite an aversion to raising prices for morale welfare and recreation activities Price increases arc hound to happen said a congressional staff member accompanying Leath up until about three or four years ago. Sustained Price increases in mar virtually never took place tic staff member said citing the Case of Bowling fees. Uitich were about 75 percent below civilian prices an Golf fees that were so percent cheaper. What we re seeing Here to some extent is a catchup of years and years of very Low prices but Price increases arc not the Only option partic Plarl pinyin budgets Are Bottom driven and that s where the priorities Start said Judy Miller Deputy assistant Secretary of the army for personnel issues. We Tell them the Congress what we  in the future she said commanders arc going to face some hard choices including possibly shutting Down activities normally taken for granted but no being used enough to justify their existence i think choices have to be made she said. If people Are not going to participate in sufficient num Bers to make both the collective and individual costs effective maybe we should t be doing a particular activity. In general this does not apply to child care facilities and program which Are a lop priority with Congress and Are fast becoming one with the services As Well Cath said. We have not Cut child care Money thai was requested and have often greatly increased it he said. Congress is not Only understanding of the prob Lem we have led the Way in making child care a to priority within the services but even in hat instance service members cannot expect to be completely insulated from increased expenses associated with child care. Miller. Said. An army study found that the service was putting about $70 million a year into child care and generating reve nue of Only about $700,000. Of the j70 million about130 million came from tax dollars and the rest from non appropriated funds r in Miller s View that creates a kind of  dollars build the facilities and pay the director and key staff but the child care providers and the bulk of the rest of the operating costs arc borne by the sol Diers collectively she said. In the future there May be a rethinking of the Iradi Vional definition of morale support and the services it includes Miller said. Why should you ask the taxpayer or the Soldier 10 invest in a Bowling Alley if no one is in there Bowling or a club if the omy people there Are i he bartender an three waitresses any one of these activities can be run More effectively to bring the Soldier in and if they can to then they should be closed and the Money used someplace else Miller said. We just can t keep throwing Money at services that is not being utilized. It s going to be a matter of choices and that s the wave of the  cola increases for . Civilians military personnel living 7n Europe by the stars and strip Cost of living and Post allowances for most military members and government civilians in Europe in creased with dec 1 paychecks because of the falling value of the Dollar but complaints and problems relating to recent Cutsin Cost of living allowance in Japan and Okinawa have led the defense and stale departments to order new living pattern surveys at those locations. In Europe Cost of or veg avow faces for military personnel in Lull support areas within 50 Miles of a commis sary and Exchange Are being raised based on a Complex formula thai lakes into consideration pay Grade Yean in service number of dependents country of assignment and other factors. For example an is with six Yean of service and three dependent will Tec in increase of 120 per month in his or her cola in full support area in West Germany Italy and the United kingdom. Increase in cola Are greater for Louien Irving farther away from commissary and change  i a " " allowance rates also arc foils up for civilian employees. In West Germany most diff wins win see their annual allowances doubted. The allowances Are based on Loca Tion salary and number of dependents. A civilian in the Frankfurt area earning 125,000 per year with three depend Denu will see the allowance go from j690 per year to $1,380. In London the same civilian worker will a an increase from $2,070 per year 1012,760 per year,., any in Belgium however civilian employees will not get increase in their allowance. Living expenses there Don t justify an increase according to officials with Usa eur., in the far East american Scricc members and civilian employees have seen a decrease in allowances. Recent living pattern surveys which Are required every three or four Yean or when there has been a major shift in living pattern bit americans in Thor pocketbooks the surveys determine where people Are shopping of the local Economy or in military stores an what percentage they Purchase in each Type of store. The cola on Japan and Okinawa was Cut because of Survey findings thai people were doing less shopping on the More expensive local economies and turning to the military commissaries Ami exchanges after Colas were Cut people asked if the next sur vey could be done Early. Hud Deanii Pike of the Penta gon s per diem travel and transportation allowance committee. The committee approved the request and scheduled the new u Ying Pittner Survey for military members cola through dece Niber a fret the previous Survey resulted in cola cuts taut october. An e-6 on Okinawa with three dependent and 10 Yean service saw the yearly cola rate drop from $4,940 to $3,900. Pike said the redoing of the military living Patten Survey could move up the Dale for the defense depart ment s annual Market Basket Survey now due in february by a month or  the Market Basket Survey analyses local retail prices. Pike said either Survey can result in a higher cola