European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 6, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday May 6, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 unemployment rate climbs in april Washington a the nation s unemployment rate shot up 0.3 percent last month to 5.? percent As Job growth in the Economy slowed to its lowest level in nearly three years the labor depart ment reported f riday. The april jobless Rale was the highest since january and moved civilian unemployment off the 15-Jcar Low of 5.0 per cent posted in March. The report was Likely to be greeted by financial markets because analysts have said a Rise in unemployment is the Quick est Way to ease wage inflation that has been pushing up Overall inflation. The department s Surv cd of business found that the number of payroll jobs grew by 117.000 non farm positions in april the lowest Eccl since the govern ment reported a drop of 92.000 positions in june l 86. The department also re Vised March payroll growth to i7i.osio, Down from 180,000. In yet another sign of a slowing Economy. The slower Job growth contrasts sharply with the average monthly payroll growth of 300,000 in the 12 months that ended in february. The number of unemployed workers also increased in april after two months of decline rising by about 420.000 to 6.5 million according to the labor depart ment s separate household Survey. The department said the Pool of employable people called the civilian labor Force grew by 395.000 in april its larg est monthly jump this year. That would be greeted As Good news by financial an aljets who have blamed rising wages on an unusually tight labor Market. Underscoring Market concerns about inflation the report said average hourly earnings Rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in april after climbing 0.3 per cent for two months. However. Janet Norwood commissioner of labor statistics cautioned against Reading the latest wage figures As a major inflationary Factor saying wage growth seems to occur in fits and  at the same time she acknowledged that the report was another piece in the mounting evidence of an economic slow Down. The slowdown in March and april is  Norwood said in prepared con Gressional testimony. While arc Are not getting net Job losses we Are creating far Tew or jobs than we were even a few months ago. And few industries Are significantly expanding their  the data make it increasingly unlikely that the Federal Reserve Board will tighten credit again when its policy making committee meets this month. The Central Bank has been keeping a tight rein on credit to slow the Economy and curb inflation. Recent reports have shown signs of that slowdown. The increase in the civilian unemployment rate predominately affected men. The jobless rate among White men Rose from 3.6 percent in March to 4.0 percent last month. Among hispanic men it shot up from 6.5 percent to 8.3 percent. Unemployment among Black men Rose from 9.8 percent to 10.0 percent. In a separate calculation of unemployment including military personnel based in the United states the labor depart ment said the jobless rate also Rose by 0.3 percentage Points from 4.9 percent to 5.2 percent. Plan for Ozone would help fund phaseout of rfcs Helsinki. Finland a a  conference Friday called for financial Aid possibly including a new International fund to help developing countries phase out chemicals that damage the Earth s protective of one shield. The Compromise for a world climate fund was adopted after private consultations among delegates of nine Industrial and third world countries. Mostafa k. Tolba. Head of the . Environment program adjourned the meeting thursday to break the deadlock on suggestions to build the fund. Industrial countries objected to demands for a fund they said could be expensive to set up and administer. Third world countries wanted to ensure that assist Ance would not be drawn from existing Aid programs. Earlier the conference called for a worldwide ban by the year 2000 on chlorofluorocarbons or rfcs which Are used in refrigeration some plastics and Insu lation. Rfcs break Down the Ozone layer High above the Earth that filters out ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. An erosion of the Ozone layer increases the risk of skin cancer and Eye disease. The delegates agreed that developing countries needed assistance to replace the technology and equip ment they inherited from the Industrial countries. Scientists said the threat of Ozone depletion can be averted Only if Csc emissions arc stopped altogether. The adopted Resolution said the conference recognizes the urgent need to establish International Finan Cial and other mechanisms to help developing coun tries. It set up a working group to develop modalities for such mechanisms. That do not exclude the possibility of an International  the working group is to report next year to a second follow up conference of the 1987 Montreal protocol which was the first treaty to establish controls on the production and use of rfcs. Finland s environmental minister Kaj Barlund who championed the idea of a world climate fund said the Resolution was close to what we  but he acknowledged the vague wording May make it difficult to gel the fund working. Atlantis commander David Walker kites a thumbs before hoarding the shuttle for liftoff thursday. Up Atlantis Crew sends Mage an on of Venus space Center Houston a the robot probe Magellan streaked across the solar system Friday at 25,000 Mph on its Way to Venus and the astronauts who launched the spacecraft turned to More routine tasks aboard Atlantis. Deployment of the probe from the shuttle s cargo Bay thursday night signalled a revival of an american planetary science program that has been dormant since 1978. The spacecraft is performing just beautifully. All systems Are operational and nominal. It could t be better John Gerpheide Magellan project manager said a few hours after the probe was launched. Atlantis Blastoff thursday afternoon followed a Cliff hanging. 59-minute wait that ground controllers and the live astronauts endured because of the fickle Florida weather. With just five minutes left in the shuttle s launch window controllers found a Hole in the Clouds and Atlantis thundered into the sky at 2 47 . About six hours after liftoff Magellan was gently ejected from the shuttle s cargo Bay and the $550 Mil lion interplanetary Mission began. At last Check All systems were working exception ally Well on Magellan Mission control commentator Jeffrey Carr said Early Friday. The space shuttle also was performing Well. Carr said. During the rest of the Mission the astronauts will try to photograph lightning systems at night and at tempt to grow crystals of Indium by melting and then re solidifying the material. The Crew members also will take other photographs of the Earth As Well As test various systems on Law orbiter. Another planned project includes taking  samples during the flight to determine How an anti motion sickness drug is absorbed by the body in Zero Gravity. Atlantis in orbit 1x4 Miles above the Earth is scheduled to land monday afternoon at Edwards fab Calif. Draft of plan urges against ban on All air toxins Washington a the government should allow certain Levels of  air pollution and drop the current goal of a ban according to a draft document by officials working on president Bush selcan air package. The Zero tolerance level mandated under current Law is suboptimal and if continued would be extremely costly politically difficult and would threaten the shut Down of Many plants in several industries from court  the document said. The draft document provides options for pollution control ranging from assessing health risks against Industry costs to belting standards for 125 pollution categories. Another option would leave the whole matter up to the slates. The draft s options on airborne toxins Are to be reviewed by Bush s Domestic policy Council before he receives a recommendation As part of his planned Revi Sion of the clean air act. The plan also will include sections on acid rain and Urban Ozone standards. Some environmental activists who obtained the document denounced its proposals As too weak to protect the Public against airborne poisons the draft deals with the attempt to arrest the 2.7 billion pounds of poisonous chemicals that the Lini Ron mental Protection Agino estimates Are released into the atmosphere each year. The Epa is now required to assess the risk of each chemical and then develop a chemical by chemical emissions Standard to protect the Public health within an ample margin of  clean air Bills Are already pending in Congress and. More arc expected to be introduced. Bush s plan is expected to be ready in a month. The draft document lists three initial regulatory of Lions for Industrial polluters. The first would set an unreasonable risk Standard to assess the benefits of regulation against the Cost. This Standard the document said could be coupled with a commitment to address a specific list of the Industrial sources posing the greatest  Over per haps three to five years. The document acknowledged that such an approach Likely would be criticized As not protective of Public  the second option would turn the question of Slan Dards Over to the states. Each elate would Issue permits for individual Industrial polluters specifying accept Able emission Levels. The third option would list about 125 Industrial categories requiring controls from 5 to 12 years after the rules went into effect. This alternative would rely on polluters using maximum available control technology to Stem emissions the draft said. Newly constructed pollution sources would have to use the Best achievable technology to Cul pollution keeping costs and technical feasibility in mind the document said