FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 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 Daylight Time.

Statement of

Katharine G. Abraham
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Before the

Joint Economic Committee

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Friday, August 6, 1999


Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
	Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the July
employment and unemployment estimates that the Bureau of
Labor Statistics released this morning.
	The unemployment rate, as measured by our household
survey, was unchanged at 4.3 percent in July and has been
either 4.3 or 4.2 percent each month since March.  Nonfarm
payroll employment, as measured by our establishment survey,
rose by 310,000 in July.  This strong over-the-month
increase followed a 273,000 gain in June and was well above
the average monthly increase of 208,000 for the first half
of 1999.  Manufacturing and construction employment
increased over the month, and several service-producing
industries posted sizable gains.
	In July, employment in manufacturing rose by 31,000,
after seasonal adjustment.  This increase follows declines
totaling 490,000 since March 1998.  In several durable goods
industries, the employment declines that typically occur in
July were smaller than usual this year.  As a result, these
industries posted over-the-month increases in employment,
after seasonal adjustment.  Employment gains occurred in
fabricated metals (9,000), industrial machinery (6,000),
electrical equipment (6,000), and motor vehicles and
equipment (5,000).  In addition, employment in furniture and
fixtures increased by 8,000, and stone, clay, and glass
products gained 3,000 jobs.  Employment in instruments and
related products rose by 5,000, the first increase since its
last peak in March 1998.  Within nondurable manufacturing,
employment either was about unchanged or declined in most
components in July.
Over the month, factory overtime rose to 4.8 hours,
after seasonal adjustment.  The factory workweek, at 41.9
hours, also rose in July.
	Elsewhere in the goods-producing sector, job growth
continued in construction.  The industry added 22,000
workers over the month, about in line with the monthly
average of 25,000 over the prior 12 months.  In July,
employment continued to decline in mining.  Job losses over
the past 2 months, however, have moderated compared with
losses incurred earlier this year.
	Within the service-producing sector, a July gain of
91,000 in retail employment reflected continued strong
growth in eating and drinking places, which added 61,000
jobs.  Employment also increased over the month in auto
dealerships and building supply stores.  In contrast,
furniture stores failed to add jobs for the first time in
over a year.
	The services industry added 110,000 jobs in July,
slightly below the monthly average for the prior 12 months.
Strong over-the-month job growth of 66,000 in business
services was buoyed by the largest increase in help supply
in over a year and a half, and by continued robust growth in
computer and data processing services.  Following 2 months
of relatively sluggish growth, employment in health services
rose by 19,000 in July, with doctors’ offices contributing
nearly half of the increase.  Strong job growth continued in
engineering and management services.
	Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate rose
by 13,000 in July, slightly below the monthly average of the
prior 12 months.  Job growth in finance was held back by a
small employment decline in mortgage banking.  Security
brokerages, however, experienced their largest job increase
of the year.  Employment growth in real estate continued in
July, reflecting strength in home sales.
	Transportation employment edged up over the month, and
public utilities resumed its long-term employment decline,
following a small increase in June.  Wholesale trade
employment expanded by 16,000 in July, and government
employment was about unchanged over the month, after
seasonal adjustment.
	Average hourly earnings of private production or
nonsupervisory workers grew by 6 cents in July to $13.29,
following a rise of 5 cents in June.  Over the year, average
hourly earnings have risen by 3.8 percent.
	Turning now to our survey of households, the jobless
rate held at 4.3 percent in July, and has been below 4.5
percent since November 1998.  Unemployment rates were little
changed over the month for the major demographic groups,
with the exception of blacks.  Following several months of
steady improvement, the jobless rate for blacks rose sharply
from 7.3 percent in June to 8.8 percent in July.  The jump
in the black unemployment rate was not confined to any one
particular sub-group, but was split among adult men, adult
women, and teenagers.  I would caution, as always, against
reading too much into any one month’s movement in the data.
Civilian employment was essentially unchanged in July,
and the proportion of the population that is employed, at
64.1 percent, also was little changed.  About 5.7 percent of
employed persons held more than one job in July (not
seasonally adjusted), little different from a year earlier.
Among the 67 million persons age 16 and over who were
not in the labor force in July, 1.1 million (not seasonally
adjusted) were classified as “marginally attached” to the
labor market.  This number was down nearly 200,000 over the
year.  These are persons who want and are available for work
and looked for employment at some time in the past year, but
are not currently looking for a job.  The number of
discouraged workers, a subset of this group who have stopped
looking for work because they feel their search would be in
vain, was 290,000 in July (not seasonally adjusted), down
from 374,000 a year earlier.
	In summary, the labor market continued to show strength
in July.  Payroll employment expanded by 310,000 over the
month and the jobless rate held at 4.3 percent.
	My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your
questions.

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