New U.S. construction labor agreements are averaging $1.11 per hour or 3.9 percent in 1999 - only one tenth of a percent ahead of last year's numbers.

Construction Labor Research Council Executive Director Robert Gasperow told the Bureau of National Affairs that the continued moderation in contract settlements during a building boom in much of the nation is a reflection of "a good economy and responsible bargaining."

Inflation today is nearly nonexistent, he said, so workers are getting more bang for their pay increases. He said other factors are a competitive marketplace and a desire by the industry not to return to the late 1960s and early 1970s, when pay increases were "out of control."