European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 6, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 a the stars and stripes wednesday november 6, 1991 Money matters a unemployment malaise afflicts  americans fear Job loss poll shows by Anne Swardson and Steven Mufson the Washington Post Washington a Aron Brail is one of the Lucky ones. Laid off from his engineering Job at Litton systems inc. In College Park ecu last january he was Able to do a Little consulting Over the summer. His wife although she had not worked for some time was Able to find a position at a nursing Home to keep their four member family going. _ later Brail scraped together five or six interviews from the 100 resumes he sent out. And on Friday he accepted a Job offer. All he has to do is work for a salary 25 percent lower than he had been making at Litton and commute two hours and 40 minutes a Day until he can relocate to Waynesboro a. A in the past 10 years i did no to know anybody who was Laid off a said Brail 44. A now it is happening to everybody. 1 know quite a few people in Columbia my where hive who Are Laid off from their jobs or Are afraid of losing their  the nation s unemployment rate 6.8 percent last month is not As High As it was in the severe 1982-83 recession when it hit 10.8 percent in november and december 1982. But in their buying and investing decisions Consumers borrowers and businesses Are acting As if it is. They arc aware that a the Broad nature of this downturn which encompasses White Collar employees As Well As manufacturing workers Means a More pervasive sense of insecurity. A Long term restructuring in service industries once thought immune from recession makes some americans doubt that their Job prospects will improve even after the downswing in the business Cycle is Oyer. A even the unemployment rate docs not fully describe the current malaise in the labor Market. Last month a Washington Post Abc news poll showed that unemployment has climbed to the top of the list of americans worries surpassing drugs and crime for the first time during the Bush presidency. Nineteen percent of those polled said that unemployment was their biggest concern up from 7 percent of those questioned in March. The response has sparked concern in the White House As the 1992 election approaches. Last week the conference Board a new York based business research group reported that consumer co fit Denic plunged in october to a level not seen since the Middle of the persian Gulf War. The anxiety about jobs has magnified the direct effects of unemployment slowing consumer purchases that account for two thirds of the nations Economy. A if you look at those who live in family units one in every 10 families had someone unemployed a said Janet Norwood commissioner of the Bureau of labor statistics. A the result is that people have someone unemployed in their own family or they know someone unemployed and it worries them. Then they read in the papers about corporations planning to Lay off hundreds of people and that scares them  Marianne Caputo foreground who was Laid off from a human services firm five months ago Waits outside Bostons Opportunity Job Center last week to pick up her unemployment compensation Check. Among the More anxious americans Are those who were formerly among the More prosperous. Layoffs among managerial and other White Collar workers have hit a class of people who thought they were immune from shifts of the Economy. Because they have the most Money to spend when they Stop spending the Impact on the Economy is the most dramatic. Over the past three years for example layoffs have hit nearly one in five people in new Yorkus Wall Street District. Those jobs pay an average of $81,800, com eared with the City a average salary of $32,400. That has and a Ripple effect on new York s retailing and entertainment industries. Al Miller executive vice president of the federation employment and guidance service a Large private non profit vocational training and employment referral service said his firm recently held a career support seminar limited to upper level business people. A we thought we would get 100 people. We did no advertising a Miller said. A we Cut off registration at 650. These were people who had been earning $75,000 to $300,000 and had lost their jobs or expected to in the next few  a a lot of people who operated under the sense that they were insulated from unemployment find that sense of Security has left them a said Sam Ehrenhalt the new York regional commissioner of the Bureau of labor statistics. A a lot of people for the first time Are seeing unemployment As something that happens to them and not just to Blue Collar  the traditional victims of recessions Blue Collar employees of manufacturing companies have been hit hard As Well. The number of manufacturing jobs in the nation fell by 32,000 in october the second straight monthly decline. The total number of jobs was 786,000, or 4.1 percent below the total in july 1990, when the recession started. Manufacturing a had shown some resurgence this past summer but the losses in the past two months have erased those gains a Norwood said what May set the current recession apart from past ones is that because Many companies outside the manufacturing sector Are still in the midst of layoffs and streamlining they also will be slow to undertake significant rehiring even As the Economy begins to pick up. First time buyers spark surge in Home prices Washington a its 4,434 Miles from Honolulu to Saginaw Mich. But when it comes to another measure a the Cost of housing a the cities Are even further apart. The most expensive housing in the nation last summer was in Honolulu where the median Price of an existing Home was $345,000. The least expensive was in Saginaw where the typical resale Home costs $52,000. The National association of realtors released the figures monday in its latest quarterly sur eve of existing Home prices and sales. Despite a 1.1 percent decline in sales from july through september prices surged 5.5 percent the fastest clip in four years the realtors said. Prices had jumped 4.7 percent in the second Quarter following Back to Back 0.5 percent declines during the Depths of the recession. The report attributed the surge to Low end purchases in the Midwest South and West by first time buyers taking advantage of the lowest mortgage rates in 14 years. That tended to boost the prices of so called starter Homes and because of the volume the median Price As Well. The median Price Means half of the Homes Cost More and half less. But Many prospective Trade up buyers shunned the Market fearful of the greater risks involved in purchasing higher priced Homes in an Uncertain Economy the realtors said. A it s the same old Story but it still holds True Many Consumers simply Are not coming out into the Market because their Confidence is shot Quot said realtors president Harley e. Rouda. A mortgage rates have fallen to Levels unseen in 14 years yet the Only sales activity we re seeing is at the Low end of the Market Quot he added. The absence of Trade up buyers was reflected in the third Quarter sees decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.55 million units compared with the same period a year ago. It was the first decline since an 11.6 percent drop during the fourth Quarter of 1990 As the Economy headed toward the Depths of the recession. Twenty five states and the District of Columbia contributed to the loss including a huge 26.5 percent drop in sales in Hawaii. Twenty three states enjoyed sales increases including a 19.6 percent Advance in Massachusetts. Statistics on two states were not available. Still prices posted their steepest jump since an 8.3 percent gain in the first Quarter of 1987. Nationally the median Price of an existing Home was $101,900, up 5.5 percent Over last year and 0.8 percent Over the second Quarter. Bradenton fla., posted the largest gain a 20.3 percent Advance in the median Price to $84,900. Sales of less expensive Homes have been the driving Force behind Many markets Rouda said. A unlike Trade up borrowers first time buyers Are More focused on mortgage rates than where to Economy is  the average rate for 30-year, fixed a mortgages fell from 9.58 percent in jul to 9.01 percent in september Accordini to surveys by the Federal Home lot mortgage corp. But Many first time buyers were u Able to afford even starter Homes in to Northeast realtors economist John i Tuccillo said. As a result the Region experienced to Only decline in the median Price Dov 0.7 percent to $140,900. Ten of just areas nationally posting declines were the Northeast. On the other hand the Midwest had Large Supply of affordable housing Ai thus received an Overall boost from Greier entry level activity Tuccillo said. To median Price in the Midwest was up 4 percent to $78,300. The South and West posted Identie 5.6 percent Price gains to $146,000 in t West and to $92,000 in the South