2.8% Dip Recorded By Industrial Output: December Industrial Output Off 2.8%
output plunged JUt per cent in December, the fifth de-cline in six months and the steepest of the year, the Federal Reserve Board reported yesterday. Output had fallen 2.5 per cent in November.</br></br>Underscoring the deepening recession, the board said reductions in output were ÛÏlarge and widespreadÛ among products and industrial materials.</br></br>The industrial production index, which measures the output of the nationÛªs factories, mines and utilities, fell * ber, 6.5	per cent, but the accelerated nature of the recession is shown by the 12.1 per cent drop in the index in the fourth quarter.</br></br>Û¢	The Commerce Department reported that although personal income rose $5.2 billion in December, private wages and salaries declined again for the second straight month. The 0.4 per cent rise in AmericansÛª income in December was attributed to fatter checks from the government for increased veterans and unemployment insurance benefits.</br></br>Û¢	The Labor Department reported that 3.923,700 persons were receiving unemployment insurance benefits for the week ending Dec. 28, up 623,500 from the week before and the highest number on record receiving benefits in any one week. Although the number always rises the week after Christmas, government experts say even seasonally adjusted, the number is an all-time high.