August 10, 2000

Biennial job displacement survey by Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that number of permanent layoffs declined over last three years amid longest US economic expansion on record and that rate may match lowest in 20-year history of survey; women were laid off virtually as often as men, closing wide gap that had existed for most of last 20 years, while layoff rate for blacks compared with whites rose significantly; layoff rate for Hispanics dropped sharply, falling below that of blacks and differences between whites and Hispanics also narrowed; 3.3 million workers on job for three years or more were laid off during three-year period ending in 1999, while 4.3 million workers on jobs for less than three years lost jobs (M)

Federal appeals court clears way for sale of generic version of Prozac, world's top-selling antideprerssant, as early as summer 2001, or about two years earlier than expected; Eli Lilly, maker of Prozac, will appeal; first generic version, to be sold by Barr Laboratories, could be priced at less than one-third current price of about $90 for 30-day prescription; Barr chairman and chief executive, Bruce L Downey, predicts ruling will cause more generic drug companies to bring court challenges to numerous patents that brand name drug makers file to try to keep less expensive generic versions of their drugs off market; photo (M)

Article discusses US heavyweight amateur boxer Michael Bennett preparing for Sydney Summer Olympic Games (M)

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Phone Strike Drags On As Contract Talks Continue As Verizon Communications prepares to enter its fifth day of bargaining with its striking unions, the question arises: Has Verizon gotten more with this strike than it bargained for? As the walkout by 86,000 workers of Verizon, the nation's largest telecommunications employer, has developed into one of the most unruly strikes in years, doubts are growing over the company's preparation for the contract talks and its handling of the strike. [Page C8.]