FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T.
                            FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 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 Daylight Time.

Statement of

Katharine G. Abraham
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

before the

Joint Economic Committee

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Friday, September 5, 1997




Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
	Good morning.  I would like to thank you for this
opportunity to comment on the employment and unemployment
data that were released this morning.
	Nonfarm payroll employment edged up in August; the
over-the-month gain would have been larger but for the
effect of the strike in the transportation industry.  The
unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.9 percent.
The transportation strike directly involved 185,000
workers.  The net impact of the strike on employment,
however, was smaller, perhaps about 155,000, after
accounting for hiring elsewhere in the transportation
industry and at the U.S. Postal Service to help meet the
demand for parcel delivery.  (In the payroll survey,
workers on strike for the entire reference period are not
counted as employed because they are not being paid by
their employers.)
	Offsetting the transportation industry decline were
employment increases in a number of industries.  Government
employment rose for the third month in a row, with the
gains again concentrated in local education.  As I have
said before, changes in school schedules make precise
seasonal adjustment for local education problematic.  In
1996, most of the year’s seasonally adjusted employment
gains for local education were recorded in the June-August
period; the same pattern appears to be emerging this year.
An increase in Federal employment reflected postal workers
hired on a temporary basis during the transportation
strike.  Excluding the postal service, Federal employment
continued to decline.
	The finance industry continued to add workers.
Indeed, uninterrupted growth in that industry over the last
26 months has netted nearly 200,000 new jobs, with the
largest gains among mortgage bankers and brokers and
security and commodity brokers.
Services added only 32,000 jobs following a much
larger gain in July.  The average for the two months was
94,000, about in line with the monthly average over the
first half of the year.  A job loss of 16,000 in help
supply services was the fourth decline in the past five
months.  Employment in both amusements and recreation and
private education declined following substantial employment
increases in recent months.  More than offsetting these
losses were continued job gains in health services,
computer services, social services, and engineering and
management services.  In addition, motion pictures recorded
an unusually large gain.
Job growth in retail trade (31,000) slowed following
two stronger months.  General merchandise stores and
miscellaneous retail stores continued to add jobs, but
employment in eating and drinking places edged down
following strong hiring from April to July.  Employment in
wholesale trade rose moderately following a unusually large
gain in July.
In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing
employment advanced by 47,000, following a decline in July.
The August gain reflected the return of 10,000 strikers in
the auto and steel industries.  In several industries
(fabricated metals, autos, and rubber and miscellaneous
plastics), August gains reversed July declines.  Three
other industries continued a strong growth pattern:
industrial machinery (including computers), electronic
components, and aircraft.  On the other hand, there was an
unusually large decline in furniture and fixtures, and
losses continued in food products, apparel, and textiles.
Construction employment increased for the first time since
May, as heavy construction and special trade contractors
added jobs.
Average hourly earnings of production or
nonsupervisory workers rose by 5 cents in August after
increasing just one cent in July.  Over the year, hourly
earnings rose by 3.6 percent.  The average workweek was up
by 0.2 hour in August after declining by 0.1 hour in July.
Both the factory workweek and factory overtime rose by 0.1
hour.
	Turning to data from the household survey, the
unemployment rate was about unchanged at 4.9 percent.  It
has remained between 4.8 and 5.0 percent since April.
Civilian employment also was little changed at 129.8
million; since the end of 1996, it has risen by about 1.7
million, after adjusting for new estimates of the size of
the working-age population introduced in January.  (Unlike
the payroll survey, the household survey counts strikers as
temporarily absent from a job, and, thus, employed.)
	In summary, the large transportation strike held the
over-the-month payroll employment gain to just 49,000.  The
unemployment rate was little changed in August at 4.9
percent.

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

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