Labor department shows that the number of americans filing applications for Unemployment Benefits unexpectedly declined last week to levels not seen since november of 1973. So thats a more than 42year low. Add to that a jobless rate at an eightyear low. More people looking for work, a healthy outlook from economists, and most say the labor market is in good shape. But despite the solid numbers, theres still a lot of angst among american workers. This campaign is sending a message to Corporate America you cannot have it all reporter you hear it almost every day on the campaign trail. Is anybody working up here . We got to change this. Its terrible. Reporter you can see it and hear it if the streets. What do we want . Reporter protests, calls to raise the minimum wage, improve health benefits, or today in washington, d. C. , it was about protecting pension benefits for retirees. All that frustration, though, would seem to belie our economic data. Last weeks initial claims for state Unemployment Benefits, a measure of layoffs, fell to 253,000 the second time in two months its hit a low not seen since 1973. Unemployment is at 5 , a number once thought to be at or near full employment. But clearly somethings wrong. What markets are telling you is that nowhere in the industrial world is there an expectation that inflation is going to reach the 2 target over the next decade. Thats telling you that something is off. Reporter one thing thats off, the types of jobs that we are filling. Some argue too many are minimum wagelevel positions. Clearly there have been job creations in a much larger volume than was expected. The quality of those jobs needs to be looked at, in our view. Reporter u. S. Companies argue theres a skills gap. Thats why, they say, 85,000 highskilled foreigners are admitted to the u. S. Each year using governmentgranted h1b visas and the number of foreign applicants for those visas is up more than 30 in two years, hitting a new record again more than 236,000. 40,000 verizon workers went on strike this week. Its the biggest labor walkout the u. S. Has seen in five years. And with corporate profits sagging, its a problem that isnt going away any time soon. Recession fears may have subsided for now. But growth . Thats a lingering problem. Its translated into more of a sort of business as usual type of disappointment and consive with our view that were still in the middle of a very long, very flat business cycle. William lee joins us now to talk more about the disconnect that were seeing in the labor market. Hes the head of north america economics at citi. Thanks for joining us. There does seem to be this great disconnect, president ial candidates on both sides of the aisle promising theyll be able to create more jobs. The reality is many businesses, many small businesses, are not hiring traditional workers because theyre hiring contract workers or temporary workers. Is that what is really causing this dilemma were seeing in the labor market and the anxiety among many workers . We have a dual economy, a disconnect between whats going on in the labor market, which is a lot of job creation, yet we have very she growth in gdp. Economists call that productivity problem. It means that the workers who are getting jobs are not getting jobs that pay a middleclass wage, the living wage everyones demanding. Because their productivitys not up to it. I think one of the things thats a shame about this recovery is that the bulk of the jobs have been in the slowerwage sectors. Retail, hospitality, health care. And even when you see where the wages are going up, its really associated with those lowerwage, nearminimum wage jobs. So there really is a huge disconnect. But is that a does it mean something is broken . We have had how many years, a full generation, maybe 30 years of an obsession to bring costs down in this economy. And weve done it. Jobs have gone overseas so we could produce things more cheaply. And the Service Sector gave rise because they could pay workers less money. I mean, this is what were going through. This is what weve been working toward, isnt it . Bill, weve had a hollowing out of the job market. Weve had a lot of the middle american jobs shift abroad. Or replaced by computers. And we are left with a tremendous demand for very skilled workers. If you go to any house builder, hell tell you the reason i cant build you Affordable Housing is because i cant find the skilled labor, roofers, framers, skilled plumbers able to build at a reasonable cost. And at the same time you have stock boys who are in Department Stores now who are College Graduates, now theyve gotten jobs College Graduates should have, and these Department Stores are not able to find stock boys so theyre having to raise these minimum wages. Thats unfortunately the only segment of the labor market thats experiencing wage gains. Seems like the disconnect really is between technology and automation on one side and actually a healthy economy. But it just there is this disconnect and we cannot find the skilled workers to find of fill some of these jobs. What can be done about it . Well, the key is whether youre a substitute for a computer or a complement for a computer. With technology its inevitable that the jobs are going to change. Are you going to be someone whos going to be able to work with a computer and work with technology so that the Technology Enhances your productivity . Or youre going to be the buy that gets a baas well dollars. On the other hand, if youre a substitute, if a computer replaces you, youre going to be on the unemployment line. Thats the split in the economy weve seen. Very good point. William lee, thank you for joining us, with citi. Elsewhere, stocks took a breather after a big twoday rally but the small gains squeezed out by the dow were just enough to put the blue chip average at its highest level since july. By the close the dow rose by 18 points, it closed at 17,926. The nasdaq lost a point. The s p rose just fractionally. To the economy now where Consumer Prices rose ever so slightly in march. The Consumer Price index which measures everything from rent to medical care was up. 1 . Though small it was the first gain in four months. Some economists say the weaker than expected inflation increase points to a soft Global Economy thats still keeping price gains in check. Speaking of which, oil prices finished slightly lower today as traders started to doubt what, if anything, will be achieved at that producers meeting this weekend. As weve been reporting, Oil Producers will discuss whether to curb output to support prices. Today the International Energy agency said that even an output freeze would have a limited impact on supplies globally. Domestic crude today fell slightly to 41. 50 per barrel. The federal government today issued new tougher offshore drilling rules to make equipment safer and reduce the risk associated with digging wells. The rules aim to prevent another oil spill like the one six years ago when one of bps blowout preventers failed. Industry leaders warn the rules could make it too costly to drill in somepla places. And today bp shareholders voted against the companys executive pay policy following its annual meeting. The oil giant stead that investors rejected a 20 pay increase for ceo bob dudley. Bp reported a loss meanwhile of 6. 5 billion last year. Its worst annual loss in 20 years. The company also warned it may have to cuttist dividend and that pressured shares in todays trading down 1. 5 . The slump in oil prices is hurting the most valuable bank in the u. S. By market cap. Thats wells fargo. Despite reporting better than expected earnings, the banks profit dropped from a year ago. Its oil and gas portfolio remains under significant stress and last quarter it had to set aside more money to cover its exposure to oil and gas. Which is both a price issue as well as a leverage issue for the sector. Ill say at wells fargo we managed to produce 5. 5 billion word of net income while increasing reserves for energy loans and taking some chargeoffs as well. We feel like weve got a good balance and a great outcome. Shares fell slightly today and are down more than 10 this year. Theres a new front to tell you about in the standoff between Silicon Valley and the government. Today microsoft filed a landmark lawsuit against the Justice Department. The tech company is taking a stand against the way federal agencies search emails and other communications. And as our eamon javers reports microsoft no longer wants to keep those searches secret. Microsoft filed a lawsuit against the u. S. Department of justice in a federal court in Washington State today. The companys challenging the governments ability to examine data held by microsoft while blocking microsoft from telling customers that the government has accessed that information. We believe that with rare exceptions, consumers and businesses have a right to know when the government accesses their emails or records, wrote microsofts president and chief legal officer bratt submit in a blog post. He wrote, yet its becoming routine tort u. S. Government to issue orders that require email provoviders to keep these typesf legal demands secret. Microsoft said it received 5,624 federal demands for Customer Data over the past 18 months and 2,576 of those came with bag orders that blocked the company from telling the customers in question. The department of justice had no Immediate Reaction to the suit. A u. S. Government source said the feds only learned of the legal action through Media Inquiries today. The filing comes in the wake of a dramatic standoff between apple and the fbi over iphone encrypti different issue but one that was also focused on the tension between user privacy and government security. For nightly Business Report im eamon jabbers in washington. Avoiding security lines. From the airports to the ballpark. Im phil lebeau in denver. Take me out to the ball game, just get me into the park quicker. Thats fine as long as youre willing to use your fingerprint. That story next on nightly Business Report. 85 million more vehicles here in the u. S. Could face a takata air bag recall. The nations Highway Safety watch dog says that number is in addition to the nearly 29 million inflaters that are already slated for replacement. Those air bag inflaters of course can explode with too much force and send shrapnel into drivers and passengers. This is already the largest automotive recall in our nations history. American airlines is joining a growing chorus of critics including a lot of passengers who say security lines at airports are too long. In a statement American Airlines said, the lines at tsa checkpoints nationwide have become unacceptable. The result . Our customers are waiting in tsa lines greater than one hour. The airline went even further to say that during a week in march, nearly 6,800 passengers missed flights because of those long wait tim and while some airlines do warn about longer security lines and wait times, consumers are asking if theres a faster option than a tsa precheck. The private firm clear believes it has that solution for those willing to pay for speedier access. And as phil lebeau reports from denver, the firm is taking its Biometric Identification Technology beyond the airpor reporter most of us know the frustration of waiting in long lines for airport security. But at Denver International airport, the private firm clear rarely has a line and its members rarely wait. Anything other than waiting is awesome. Just hopping through the line and being done is wonderful. Reporter clear offers biometric identification. Pay 179 a year, enter your fingerprints and iris images into the clear database, and youre in. Then when members go through an airport, they put their fingers on a scanner and a few seconds later they go to the front of the tsa security lines. But clear is at just 13 airports and with Space Limited at many airports, expanding to add clear lines has been slow. So the ceo of the company is taking biometrics identification to new venues. Like pro sports stadiums such as coors field in denver. It makes a ton of sense for places where theres lines, theres waits, we you have hand security, to give customers a better experience. Reporter with ballparks and sports arenas ramping up security, experts believe biometric screening could become more popular, especially if the price is right and the chance to use it is expanded. Theres going to be a huge and growing market in biometrics. The ability to use that to reduce risk of Identity Theft and to increase opportunities, whether its access and otherwise, is going to be quite large. Reporter fans using clear to see the Colorado Rockies loved getting through the gates without waiting. It sure beats having to wait in line and kind of come through the gates with a crowd. And the new technology i saw today i really, really like. Much slower on the other lines, yeah. Im looking forward to this on promotion nights because ill be able to get in quicker and maybe get promotional items. Reporter a new approach to solving the growing headache of long lines and tighter security. Phil lebeau, nightly Business Report, denver, colorad bank of america reports a steep decline in profits. And thats where we begin tonights market focus. Profits fell 18 for the latest quarter. The bank cited impacts from weak trading revenue and low interest rates. However, despite the loss, results came in above analyst targets. Bank of america shares rose more than 2 to 14. 14. Quarterly profits soared at delta. Low fuel prices and the airliners partnership with American Express helped lift results when came in above analyst estimates. Revenue however lagged partly due to the recent Brussels Airport bombings. Shares of delta rose fractionally to 48. 49. Last block reported a 28 39 in quarterly profit after volatility in the markets during the beginning of the year caused the money manager to bring in lower fees on investments. The company also said it suffered a 76 million restructuring charge related to its planned job layoffs. Shares were up fear nearly 2 to 354. 91. Pnc Financial Services reported worse than expected earnings for its latest quarter. The lender atributed the assaults to weaker equity markets and costs incurred from lopes related to the energy industry. Pnc shares fell fractionally to 84. 69 today. A newly proposed bill threatens to put tax prep Company H R Block out of business. Today a senator from massachusetts introduced the tax simplification act of 2016. This is a bill that would establish a free online tax system to prepare and file taxes. That news sent shares of h r block down nearly 4 today to 24. 02. Meanwhile private equity farm Carlisle Group is reportedly exploring a potential purchase of assets from Oil Field Services provider baker hughes and halliburton. That deal could be valued at more than 7 billion. The report follows a challenge by the Justice Department to that planned merger between those two companies. Shares of both baker hughes and halliburton rose as a result in todays trading. A new report out today is echoing what weve heard before Prescription Drug prices are soaring. And theres no sign of the trend reversing. According to ims health, spending on pharmaceutical drugs is expected to climb 46 to 640 billion by 2020. Now that number is the amount paid to distributors from hospitals or pharmacies. The study also finds that consumers are paying more out of pocket, an average of 44 per medication last year. And those costs can really add up when you figure one out of every five americans takes five prescriptions. The report comes as outrage over costs grows in congress. They have been Holding Hearings lately and president ial candidates say that something should be done. But what . What can be done on this issue . Lynn nichols, director of the center for Health Policy research and ethics at george mason university, joins us tonight. Whats your answer on that . Seems every week a new report highlights the continued right in Prescription Drug prices in this country. When will it stop . I dont know about stop. The good news is the data are accurate. So thats a relief. But the big deal here is fundamentally, america has two goals when it comes to drug policy. One is we want to encourage innovation. For that we grant a monopoly and the monopoly allows firms to charge a high price when the drugs are new. Thats pretty much whats driving drug price growth. And thats important to encourage innovation, but then we depend upon competition and we prefer competition to market regulation, of course, and price controls. We want competition to come along pretty soon thereafter to drive price down so that we can benefit from the good drug and lower prices over time. Whats happened fundamentally is our twin goals here of innovation encouragement and competition are out of balance. Were now overencouraging innovation, the drug prices are exceeding what our ability to pay is, and willingness to pay is. And thats why theres so much pain. So thats why its happening. But for consumers, what can they do about it . Many consumers are told, if you want to find lower prices go with a generic brand. But weve seen a price rise for wholesale drugs even greater than that for branded names, maybe six times as great over the last year or so. Whats going on here and what can consumers do . Well, theres no question that prices have been increasing across the board. There have been spectacular examples of generic prices increasing, which is unusual in our history. It had to do with the ability to exploit a temporary monopoly that will go away but in the short run they charge a lot of money. Basically consumers best strategy in the short run is find a very good insurer whos very good at hiring a pharmacy benefit manager who can bargain, who can use leverage to bargain against drug companies. Thats all you can do in the short run. Look and see what your insurer is paying, which drugs are on their formularies, are those drugs the ones you need . Im glad you said that. Were almost out of time but i want to ask about the role Insurance Companies play in these price increases. Because they end up masking the suggested retail price, if you will, what was people pay. If people had to pay the actual price of a drug, would we have a very different story here about price increases, do you think . Well friend, we probably would, but weve have an awful lot of people who couldnt afford drugs. These wonderful new would that bring the prices down if demand had to actually fall because they couldnt afford those drugs . It might but it would significantly reduce innovation as well. We need to rebalance the incentive to innovate, reduce the monopoly power but still encourage innovation. There are things you can do to tweak this. The length of time we grant the monopoly, the conditions under which we grant the monopoly. We refuse to use government Bargaining Power to complement what the private sector can do. All of those things could be moved. In a congress where we can have an adult conversation, which we all hope happens after the election let us hope. We can begin to open that conversation. Very interesting, linnik coles thanks for joining us. Heading to the ball . Soon you may not have to if retail and Technology Continue to colli the freeze in the ipo market could finally be coming to an end. Thats global market, a rival Exchange Operator to the New York Stock Exchange and the nasdaq, scheduled to start trading tomorrow. The offering comes as ipo activity slows to levels not seen since the great recession. Bob pisani has more. Reporter the ipo market is finally thawing out. Tonight Exchange Operator bats Global Markets is set to price its ipo for trading tomorrow. Theres a lot of pressure on bats for two reasons. First, they tried to go public four years ago on their own exchange but failed due to a technology glitch. Second, theyre the first significant ipo in four months, one of the worst ipo droughts in memory. So the entire market and the Ipo Community is watching how theyll price and trade. If all goes well the following week well see at least three more ipos mtm Growth Properties that owns some of the biggest casinos in las vegas. American renal for kidney dialysis. And security works, the tel spinoff. Pretty big deals. On the horizon is u. S. Foods and soul cycle. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Theres 120 ipos on file waiting to go public. Theres another 50 or so that have selected banks or may have filed privately so the potential is huge. It all depends how this early group prices and whether the stock market holds up. For nightly Business Report, im bob pisani at the New York Stock Exchange. Finally, we all know the Retail Industry is changing but picture this. Instead of hopping in the car and going to the mall, you hop on your couch, put on a headset, enter a store that may have everything youre looking for. Courtney reagan takes us into the future tonight. Reporter deciding on options for a new kitchen or bathroom can be overwhelming. Not to mention hard to picture how a sample tile will actually end up looking with the cabinets. But now thanks to Virtual Reality, consumers can build models on ipads in just minutes and then step inside their new kitchens. Oh, wow, okay. You can see that im looking at the window just over the sink. Reporter startup tech company markcent built a platform for virtual holo rooms in lowes locations. The desire to use this type of technology is extremely high, consumers are really interested and were seeing trips to the store reporter augmented reality is another tool retailers and manufacturers are exploring to entice customers to buy. That will project a digital oh, wow. Augmented reality gives consumers an entirely new viewpoint. In this case, seeing a new oven in your kitchen while youre standing in it. But without actually having to lug it to your home. Its not just startups in the virtual and augmented reality space. Intel has this 3d configure rater concept to help consumers picture home renovations. Diamond company debeers is experimenting with what they call forever mark fitting, be a augmented reality app that allows shoppers to try on jewelry. Innovators hope it will change the way consumers buy highconsideration goods, expensive items that are bulky or customized. Consulting firm digi Capital ProjectsVirtual Reality revenue will grow by a factor of 30 in four years. Eventually becoming another tech platform retailers wont be able to avoid. In two or years it will be similar to, if you dont have a virtual product platform, it would be like not having a mobile app or not having a website. Reporter there is good news for retailers when it comes to cost. Building the spiritual and augmented reality platforms are about in line with the price of building websites and apps. For nightly Business Report, im Courtney Reagan in dayton, yao. Sharon and i arent actually sitting here, were home watching this just like you are, this is all virtual. Its all virtual. Thanks so much for watching nightly Business Report. Im sharon epperson. Im bill griff fits. Have a great evening. Well see you tomorrow. From right here. Yes. Welcome to antiques roadshow, this week from minneapolis, minnesota. Man ive got to say, its been schlepped. I pulled it up from the basement today. Its been kind of disrespected. Oh, dear. I just thought it was ugly. Wow, who knew . Laying in the bottom of the bag. Ready to see what treasures floated spirits here in the city of lakes . Stay tuned. Now, the people who make antiques roadshow possible. birds chirping mom