FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1996


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, November 1, 1996



	Good morning.  I am pleased to have this opportunity
to comment on the employment and unemployment data released
this morning.
	Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 210,000 in October,
in line with the average monthly gain so far this year.
Private sector employment increased by 250,000, after
having shown little change in September.  The unemployment
rate remained at 5.2 percent.
	Fueling the increase in payroll employment were
services and trade.  Services employment rose by 119,000
overall following several months of more modest gains.
Employment in amusement and recreation services was up by
38,000, seasonally adjusted, as relatively light summer
hiring resulted in fewer-than-usual autumn layoffs.  Health
services added 24,000 jobs, about average for the year.
Employment in educational services rose by 21,000,
reflecting later-than-usual fall hiring.  Job gains also
occurred in auto repair, legal services, and child day
care.  In contrast to these advances, business services
showed virtually no job growth for the second consecutive
month, as a decline in personnel supply services offset a
gain in computer and data processing services.
	Retail trade added 62,000 jobs, reflecting a strong
start in seasonal hiring in department stores, and gains in
food stores and other retail establishments.  Wholesale
trade employment rose by 19,000, mainly in the distribution
of nondurable goods, especially apparel and groceries.
	After holding steady in September, employment in
finance, insurance, and real estate rose by 26,000 in
October.  Contributing to the gain were finance, especially
commercial banks, and real estate, as continuing strength
in home sales resulted in relatively light seasonal
layoffs.
	Manufacturing employment was about unchanged in
October following a large decline in September.  Industrial
machinery added back about one-half of the jobs lost in the
previous month.  A return of striking workers helped to
boost employment in aircraft and parts by 6,000.  Lumber
and wood products, printing and publishing, and chemicals
also recorded job gains.  Offsetting these improvements was
a decline in auto factory employment of 14,000.  Losses
continued in electronic equipment and apparel.  Employment
in construction increased by 10,000, less than half of the
average monthly gain thus far this year.
	Government employment declined for the second
consecutive month.  At the state and local levels, these
losses (on a seasonally adjusted basis) largely reflected
changes in the timing of school openings.  Federal
employment, excluding the Postal Service, fell by 7,000 in
October and has declined by over 300,000 since its most
recent peak in May 1992.
	Average hours of production and nonsupervisory workers
fell by 0.4 hour to 34.3 hours per week, about reversing
increases in the prior 2 months.  The factory workweek fell
by 0.2 hour to 41.6 hours.  Average hourly earnings of
workers on private nonfarm payrolls were unchanged at
$11.91, following gains totaling 10 cents over the prior 2
months.
	Turning to data from the household survey, the
unemployment rate remained at 5.2 percent.  Among the major
worker groups, unemployment rates were essentially
unchanged for adult men (4.3 percent), adult women (4.7
percent), teenagers (16.1 percent), whites (4.4 percent),
blacks (10.8 percent), and Hispanics (8.0 percent).  Both
the number unemployed, at 6.9 million, and the number
employed, at 127.6 million, were little changed over the
month.
	Before concluding, I would like to provide you with a
preliminary estimate of the effect on our total payroll
employment figures of the benchmark revision scheduled for
release next June.  Once a year the Bureau adjusts the
payroll survey's sample-based employment estimates to
incorporate the previous year's March universe employment
counts in a process known as benchmarking.  These universe
employment counts are derived principally from state
unemployment insurance tax reports that nearly all
employers are required to file.  By early November of each
year, we typically have completed preliminary tabulations
of these universe counts for the first quarter of the year.
We routinely share our estimate of the anticipated size of
the benchmark revision for the prior March at the time we
release our October Employment Situation report.
	Preliminary tabulations for the first quarter of 1996
indicate that the payroll employment estimates will require
only a slight adjustment, an upward revision of
approximately 90,000 or one-tenth of one percent for the
March 1996 reference month.  This is well within the 10-
year historical average of plus or minus three-tenths of
one percent for benchmark revisions to the establishment
survey, and indicates that our monthly sample survey
results tracked closely with the universe employment counts
for the 12-month period ending this past March.
	In summary, the number of employees on nonfarm
payrolls rose in October and unemployment was unchanged.

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

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