ABC Evening News open - 1977-07-08

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Nashville.

[0:04] >> This is the ABC Evening News with Harry

[0:08] Reezner and Barbara Walters.

[0:11] >> Good evening. Our top story, some bad

[0:13] economic news and some good.

[0:14] Unemployment rose in June to 7.1% but

[0:18] wholesale prices fell by 610 of 1%.

[0:21] We'll have a report on what this means.

[0:23] Continuing hot weather brings a severe

[0:25] water shortage to Washington and nearby

[0:27] areas. More than 40 people are injured

[0:29] in a train collision in Cleveland and

[0:32] the Empress of Iran answers critics of

[0:34] her husband's regime. Harry,

[0:38] a government economist said today that

[0:39] the unemployment increase in June to

[0:41] 7.1%

[0:43] may be the beginning of serious trouble.

[0:45] Unemployment was up from 6.9% in May. At

[0:48] the same time, wholesale prices dropped

[0:50] in June by 6/10en of a percent, the

[0:52] biggest drop in four years. Economics

[0:54] Senator Dan Courtz has more.

[0:57] >> Today's economic news is a mixed bag.

[0:59] The good news for consumers is the fact

[1:01] wholesale food prices are down. By so

[1:04] much it should bring some price cutting

[1:06] in the country's supermarkets in the

[1:07] months ahead. Farm prices plummeted

[1:09] 6.3%. But more important, wholesale

[1:12] prices of foods that are processed and

[1:14] ready for the groceryer shelves also

[1:16] fell by 1.3%.

[1:18] Wholesale prices are what the

[1:19] supermarket operators pay. So a drop in

[1:22] those prices should be passed along to

[1:24] retail customers pretty soon. Probably

[1:26] even more significant are the prices of

[1:28] industrial commodities which include all

[1:30] kinds of manufactured goods from

[1:32] clothing to cars. What happens to their

[1:34] prices tell us a lot more about the

[1:36] inflation rate and last month they rose

[1:38] only 3/10en of 1% the smallest increase

[1:41] this year. Today's bad news of course is

[1:44] that unemployment is going up again

[1:46] after several months of improvement. And

[1:48] the reason is not all those teenagers

[1:50] out of school and looking for summer

[1:51] jobs. Teenage unemployment is up, but

[1:54] the sharpest rise in unemployment was

[1:56] among adult women. The number of

[1:58] officially unemployed women shot up 15%

[2:01] to nearly 2.6 million. In the past

[2:03] couple of years, women have poured into

[2:05] the labor force in record numbers, often

[2:07] because they have to work so their

[2:09] families can make ends meet. And that

[2:11] influx of women is the big reason why

[2:13] even our expanding economy can't create

[2:15] jobs fast enough to bring down

[2:17] unemployment much. Dan Courtz, ABC News,

[2:20] Washington.

[2:23] >> Stock prices generally were mixed today

[2:25] and moderately active trading. The Dow

[2:27] Jones Industrial Average lost about one

[2:29] and a half points to close at 9007.99.

[2:32] Standard and pores index was down.14.

[2:35] The American stock exchange index closed

[2:37] up one point.

[2:39] The drought and continuing extreme heat

[2:42] in parts of the southeast are starting

[2:43] to make real trouble. Not only in terms

[2:45] of comfort, but now in terms of dollars

[2:47] and cents. The governor of Virginia has

[2:49] asked that 14 counties in his state be

[2:51] made eligible for federal disaster

[2:53] relief. Charles Gibson has more. The

[2:56] drought is hitting both city and country

[2:58] around Washington, but the farm damage

[3:00] seems worse. Fauler County, Virginia,

[3:02] typical. No rain to speak of since

[3:04] November and the corn which should be

[3:06] waist high isn't.

[3:08] >> Well, I guess it's been about as bad as

[3:10] I've ever seen it. I've been here for 45

[3:13] years and far

[3:15] and all told with the drought and frost

[3:19] the 8th of June. I guess it's been the

[3:22] worst season I've ever had since I've

[3:25] been farming.

[3:25] >> County supervisors peg the damage at $5

[3:28] million just in crop loss. Virginia

[3:30] officials say that's about average for

[3:31] the 14 counties affected. And it doesn't

[3:34] count the cattle farmers selling off

[3:36] stock because they don't have enough

[3:37] feed. While we were visiting the Cecil

[3:39] Lommax farm this afternoon, a storm hit.

[3:42] But quick storms like this one aren't

[3:44] the answer.

[3:45] >> It sure won't hurt us. Uh but what we

[3:48] needed is a week of u rain to get the

[3:51] ground really saturated to um do any

[3:55] good for grass or corn. and the

[3:58] temperatures 100 degrees or better.

[3:59] While the showers, they don't uh don't

[4:01] amount to much.

[4:03] >> If President Carter does declare the 14

[4:05] Virginia counties disaster areas,

[4:07] farmers will be able to get emergency

[4:09] livestock feed supplies and lowest loans

[4:12] to compensate for their disastrous

[4:13] crops. In the city, the Washington water

[4:16] shortage isn't critical yet, but it's

[4:17] getting there. Water watchers are

[4:19] comparing the present situation to the

[4:21] summer of 1966.