71.   Average hourly earnings -- a gauge of labor costs -- declined by two cents in August after rising by six cents during July.

72.   Barry Ryan, president of Huffy Bicycle, said the company needed to make the cuts because its labor costs are too high to compete.

73.   Battenberg said his operations had been driving down their labor costs by shifting UAW workers into capital-intensive factories while hiring non-UAW workers for labor-intensive work.

74.   Average hourly wages, a gauge of labor costs and inflation, showed no change in October.

75.   Because they account for two-thirds of total product costs, labor costs are considered a key indicator of inflation.

76.   Besides bringing companies closer to their customers, labor costs in markets like Asia and Eastern Europe are far lower than in Germany.

77.   Because the savings in labor costs are mostly passed on to the consumer, profit margins are no greater on these shoes than on unadorned Mary Janes.

78.   Big capital investments and tight control of labor costs have also enabled Italian manufacturers to become more competitive worldwide.

79.   Bond prices slipped after a government report on productivity pointed to rising labor costs.

80.   Bond yields initially fell because the Labor Department report showed few signs that the pace of the economy was forcing labor costs or prices higher.