FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1998 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 Friday, March 6, 1998 Good morning. I appreciate this opportunity to comment on the employment and unemployment data that we released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 310,000 in February, continuing its recent pattern of strong growth. Over the year, the economy has added nearly 3.4 million jobs. The unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent in February, was essentially unchanged from the previous month and was 0.7 percentage point lower than a year earlier. The services industry accounted for nearly half of the February employment gain. Within services, employment in help supply services rose by 52,000 over the month. Employment levels in this industry often fluctuate considerably from one month to the next, but since August the help supply services industry has added 170,000 jobs. Employment in computer and data processing services rose by 20,000 in February; over the past four years, this relatively small industry has added more than half a million jobs. Health services added 25,000 jobs over the month although there was continued weakness in home health care services. Engineering and management services, social services, and private education also added jobs over the month. Employment in the construction industry rose by 41,000 in February, the fourth strong increase in as many months. Demand for new homes has been strong, as mortgage rates are low and the economy has been robust. In addition, the severe rain and ice storms in some parts of the country have spurred hiring for cleanup and rebuilding efforts. Finally, despite the severe weather in certain locales, this winter’s weather has been sufficiently mild in many parts of the country to allow the continuation of construction activity that ordinarily would have been curtailed. The finance industry added 17,000 jobs in February. Mortgage banks and brokerages experienced a particularly large increase of 7,000 jobs, partly reflecting refinancing activity that was prompted by low mortgage rates. Employment also increased over the month in depository institutions, security and commodity brokerages, and other investment offices. The real estate industry showed strong employment growth for the second straight month, and the insurance industry also gained jobs. The transportation industry gained 34,000 jobs in February, with much of that growth occurring in air transportation and trucking. Employment in communications was essentially unchanged, while the trend of declining employment continued in the electric, gas, and sanitary services industry. Employment in wholesale trade rose by 15,000 over the month, with a large increase in durable goods distribution being partially offset by an employment decline among distributors of nondurable goods. In retail trade, employment growth was weak for the second straight month. Manufacturing payrolls were essentially unchanged in February, following 4 months of strong growth. The average length of the factory workweek edged down 0.1 hour, and manufacturing overtime dipped 0.2 hour. Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers rose by 0.1 hour over the month to 34.9 hours. Average hourly earnings increased by 8 cents over the month and were 4.1 percent higher than a year earlier. Turning now to our survey of households, the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.6 percent in February. The unemployment rate has been at or below 5.0 percent since April 1997. Like the overall unemployment rate, rates for all the major demographic groups showed little or no change over the month. Civilian employment was essentially unchanged in February, and the employment-population ratio remained at an all-time high of 64.2 percent. In summary, nonfarm payroll employment continued its strong growth trend in February, and the unemployment rate was little changed over the month. My colleagues and I now will be happy to answer your questions. 4 4