FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1999


Advance copies of this statement are made available to the 
press under lock-up conditions with the explicit 
understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. 
Eastern Standard Time.

Statement of

Katharine G. Abraham
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

before the 

Joint Economic Committee

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Friday, March 5, 1999


Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the February 
employment and unemployment estimates that the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics released this morning.
The unemployment rate, as measured by our household 
survey, was essentially unchanged at 4.4 percent in February 
and has remained within the narrow range of 4.3 to 4.5 
percent since last April.  Nonfarm payroll employment, as 
measured by our establishment survey, rose by 275,000 in 
February.  This increase was about in line with the average 
of the prior 3 months, but was well above the average for 
the first 10 months of 1998.  Substantial employment gains 
in construction and retail trade contrasted with large job 
losses in manufacturing and mining during February.  All 
other major industry groups experienced moderate employment 
increases.
Construction employment rose by 72,000 in February, the 
result of unusually mild weather during the survey reference 
week and the underlying strength of the industry.  Since 
last September, construction has gained 258,000 jobs.
Employment in retail trade rose by 123,000 in February.  
Layoffs in general merchandise stores, apparel stores, and 
miscellaneous retail establishments were smaller than in a 
typical February.  As a result, seasonally adjusted 
employment levels in those industries rose.  Employment in 
eating and drinking places increased by 25,000 in February.  
Furniture stores and building materials and garden supply 
stores continued to gain jobs in February, reflecting in 
part the strength in construction and home sales.
The services industry gained 87,000 jobs in February, 
compared with an average monthly increase of 110,000 over 
the prior 12 months.  Business services added 40,000 jobs 
over the month.  Within business services, employment in 
computer and data processing services rose by 13,000; over 
the past year, employment in the industry has increased by 
more than 13 percent.  Engineering and management services 
gained 3,000 jobs in February, compared with an average 
monthly increase of 19,000 over the prior 12 months.  Health 
services employment rose by 16,000 in February, boosted by 
home health care agencies, which added jobs for the first 
time since mid-1997. 
The transportation industry gained 14,000 jobs in 
February, as air transportation employment showed an 
unusually large increase of 11,000.  Wholesale trade 
employment rose by 9,000 over the month, and the finance 
industry gained 8,000 jobs.  Real estate employment was 
unchanged, following gains totaling 28,000 in the prior 3 
months.
Government employment rose by 22,000 in February, with 
most of the gain occurring at the local level.  Federal 
employment declined by 5,000.
Manufacturing employment fell by 50,000 in February, 
following smaller employment declines in the prior 2 months.  
Factories have lost 337,000 jobs since March 1998.  Within 
manufacturing, employment in the apparel industry declined 
by 15,000 in February, continuing a long trend that has 
accelerated recently.  Other large over-the-month job losses 
occurred in motor vehicles (8,000), aircraft (6,000), and 
fabricated metals (6,000).  Employment in industrial 
machinery fell by 7,000, a substantial decline but still 
smaller than in recent months.  Employment in electrical 
equipment declined for the eleventh consecutive month in 
February, but the loss of 2,000 jobs was the smallest since 
last June.  
The mining industry lost 10,000 jobs for the second 
straight month in February, with most of the declines 
occurring in oil and gas extraction.  Over the past year, 
employment in oil and gas extraction has declined by 14 
percent, reflecting low oil and gas prices.
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory 
workers in the private sector rose by 1 cent in February to 
$13.04.  Over the past year, average hourly earnings 
increased by 3.6 percent.  The average workweek rose 0.2 
hour in February to 34.7 hours.  The manufacturing workweek 
was unchanged at 41.6 hours, and factory overtime fell 0.1 
hour to 4.5 hours.
Turning now to our survey of households, the 
unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.4 percent 
in February.  The rate for adult men rose from 3.4 to 3.7 
percent, while the rates for adult women, teenagers, whites, 
blacks, and Hispanics showed no significant changes.  The 
civilian employment-population ratio--the proportion of the 
population that is employed--was 64.4 percent in February, 
little different from January’s record high of 64.5 percent.
In summary, nonfarm employment rose and the civilian 
unemployment rate was essentially unchanged over the month.

My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your 
questions.
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