FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1997


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 7, 1997




Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I appreciate this opportunity to comment on the labor
market data released this morning.
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 339,000 in
February, following a gain of 247,000 (as revised) in
January.  The unemployment rate, at 5.3 percent, was about
unchanged over the month.
Much of the February employment increase occurred in
construction, which added 109,000 jobs.  The magnitude of
February’s increase can be attributed largely to mild
weather across much of the country, following unusually
severe weather in January, which had restricted employment
growth.  Nevertheless, job growth in construction has been
strong since late 1995.
The services industry added 80,000 jobs over the
month, following a much larger increase in January.
February employment growth in services was held down by a
large decline in help supply services (-47,000).  This
industry exhibited an unusually large increase last month
because the seasonal adjustment factors for January were
markedly affected by the severe 1996 winter; last year's
unusual employment pattern also affected the February 1997
seasonal factors for help supply, leading to the large
decline over the month in the seasonally adjusted
employment estimate.  When both months are viewed together,
the average monthly increase over the period is about
13,000, in line with the average increase for 1996.
Several services industries had notable job gains in
February, including computer and data processing services
and engineering and management services.  Employment growth
in health services was somewhat off its average pace in
recent months with a gain of just 14,000, but this followed
a very large increase in January.
Elsewhere within the service-producing sector of the
economy, retail trade added 49,000 jobs in February,
following no growth in January (as revised).  The February
increase was driven by a large gain in general merchandise
stores that offset a similarly sized decline last month.
Typically, there are substantial layoffs in department
stores in both January and February; this year, however,
the layoffs were concentrated in January.  Hiring in
wholesale trade picked up substantially in February with an
increase of 21,000 jobs.  There was a sizable addition to
transportation payrolls (19,000); this is the second large
increase in a row for this industry.  Finance and real
estate continued to show steady employment growth.  Within
government, employment in state and local government rose
markedly in February, reflecting large gains in their
education components, but Federal payrolls continued to
ebb.
In contrast, manufacturing employment was essentially
unchanged over the month, with most of the durable and
nondurable goods industries showing little or no change.
Employment continued to wane in apparel, which lost 5,000
jobs over the month and has shed 65,000 jobs over the past
year.  The manufacturing workweek, at 41.9 hours in
February, rose by two-tenths of an hour over the month, and
factory overtime edged up by one-tenth of an hour to 4.7
hours.
Looking at the private sector overall, average hours
more than rebounded from their sharp weather-related
decline in January, increasing eight-tenths of an hour to
35.0 hours in February.  Average hourly earnings for
private production workers rose 3 cents in February to
$12.09; this follows gains of 2 cents in January and 5
cents in December.
Shifting to the data from our survey of households,
the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in February
at 5.3 percent, after seasonal adjustment.  The jobless
rate has held at or near this level since last summer.  The
rates for all major demographic groups showed little change
over the month.  The number of persons employed part time
even though they would have preferred full-time work edged
down to 4.3 million in February.  That series has shown no
clear trend for more than two years.  About 6.2 percent of
all employed persons were multiple jobholders in February
(not seasonally adjusted), little different from a year
earlier.
In addition to providing us with information on
employment and unemployment, the household survey also
provides us with information about persons outside the
labor force -- that is, those who are not working or
currently looking for work.  For example, there were about
1.5 million persons in February (not seasonally adjusted)
whom we define as marginally attached to the labor force --
that is, wanting and available for work and having looked
for a job sometime in the prior 12 months.  That number is
down from 1.8 million a year earlier.  The number of
discouraged workers –- a subset of the marginally attached
who were not looking for jobs specifically because they
believed no jobs were available for them or there were none
for which they would qualify -- was 364,000 (not seasonally
adjusted), down from 455,000 a year ago.  Our broadest
published measure of labor underutilization, which is shown
in table A-7 of our Employment Situation news release as
alternative indicator U-6, combines the unemployed (as
officially defined) with those employed part-time who would
have preferred full-time work, and those marginally
attached to the labor force.  This measure was 10.0 percent
in February (not seasonally adjusted), down from 10.7
percent a year earlier.
In summary, nonfarm employment rose by 339,000 in
February, as widespread gains in the service-producing
sector were buoyed by a large increase in construction.
The unemployment rate was little changed at 5.3 percent.

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

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