FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T.
                            FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 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 Daylight Time.

Statement of

Katharine G. Abraham
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

before the

Joint Economic Committee

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Friday, October 2, 1998




Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
	I would like to thank you for the opportunity to
comment on the labor market data released this morning.
	The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in
September at 4.6 percent, and nonfarm payroll employment
rose slightly.  Over the past three months, payroll
employment gains have slowed markedly.  After adjusting for
the direct effects of the auto strike and related plant
shutdowns, payroll employment rose by about 270,000 in July
and about 160,000 in August.  The September increase was
just 69,000.  The relatively weak September growth reflects
an unusually small increase in services and job losses in
manufacturing and construction.
	Manufacturing employment fell by 16,000 in September.
Since its peak in March, employment in this industry has
declined by 152,000.  The largest declines in September were
in industrial machinery, which shed 8,000 jobs, and in
electronic equipment, which lost 7,000 jobs.  Together,
these two trade-sensitive industries accounted for nearly 40
percent of the total factory job loss since March.  In
nondurable goods manufacturing, there was an increase of
15,000 jobs in food and kindred products, following losses
totalling 20,000 in the prior 3 months.  Apparel employment,
which has been trending downward for several years, showed
little change in September following a large loss in August.
Textiles gained 3,000 jobs, an unusual increase in an
industry that has experienced slow but steady employment
losses.
	Employment in the construction industry fell by 20,000.
The industry had added an average of 24,000 jobs per month
over the year ending in August.  The over-the-month declines
were widespread, but much of the loss occurred in heavy
construction.
	Services payrolls grew by 24,000 in September, an
unusually small increase.  Prior to September, monthly gains
during 1998 had averaged 112,000.  Employment in help supply
services fell by 44,000 in September and, at 2.8 million,
was at the same level as in January.  Employment in computer
services and in engineering and management services rose by
10,000 and 6,000, respectively, comparable to their gains in
August.  In contrast, from January to July, these industries
together had generated 40,000 jobs per month.
Elsewhere in services, employment in amusements and
recreation increased by 23,000, the third month in a row of
strong gains for this industry.  Health services gained
15,000 jobs, a bit above its pace of growth in 1998 but
below the average monthly gains realized during 1997.
Employment increased in doctors’ offices and hospitals.
Declines continued in home health care, which has lost
49,000 jobs in the past year.
Finance, insurance, and real estate gained 23,000
payroll jobs in September, after an unusually small increase
the month before.  Employment in finance increased by 8,000,
largely in securities brokerages, and real estate employment
rose by 9,000.
Employment in retail trade grew by 37,000, about in
line with its average pace for 1998.  The gains occurred
largely in general merchandise stores, food stores, and
eating and drinking places.  Employment in miscellaneous
retail trade establishments fell by 15,000 in September.  In
wholesale trade, payrolls grew by 14,000.
The number of payroll jobs in transportation and public
utilities rose by 6,000.  A strike in communications held
down growth for this industry in September.  Workers
affected by an airline strike, however, were on payrolls for
at least part of the reference pay period and thus were
counted as employed in the September survey.  Government
employment was flat, reflecting some relatively small,
offsetting movements in its components.
Average hourly earnings for production or
nonsupervisory workers rose by 1 cent in September,
following a 6-cent gain in August.  Over the 12 months
ending in September, hourly earnings increased by 4.0
percent.
The average workweek was down 0.2 hour to 34.4 hours;
manufacturing hours were unchanged while factory overtime
edged down by 0.1 hour to 4.5 hours.
Turning to data from the household survey, the number
of unemployed persons, 6.3 million, and the unemployment
rate, 4.6 percent, were little changed in September.  Both
measures have been about the same since June.  The jobless
rate has been at or below 5 percent since April 1997.  The
unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men,
adult women, teenagers, whites, blacks, and Hispanics-—all
were essentially unchanged in September.  The number of
persons working part time despite their preference for full-
time work continued to decline.  At 3.4 million in
September, that measure has fallen by 563,000 over the past
year.
To summarize, the pace of payroll job growth continued
to slow in September, reflecting declines in manufacturing
and construction and slow growth in services.  The
unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent, remained little changed.

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

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