FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 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, November 7, 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 grew in October, while
unemployment fell.  The number of jobs as measured by our
establishment survey rose by 284,000 over the month, and
the unemployment rate fell from 4.9 to 4.7 percent.  Since
the end of 1996, payroll job growth has averaged 239,000 a
month, and the unemployment rate has fallen six-tenths of a
percentage point.  Also in October, average hourly earnings
of production or nonsupervisory workers rose by 6 cents.
	Employment growth was widespread, with the goods-
producing sector accounting for much of the increase.  The
number of jobs in manufacturing grew by 54,000 in October,
well above the 11,000 average monthly gain that this
industry had posted in the first 9 months of this year.
While many industries participated in October’s rise, half
the gain occurred in just two industries--industrial
machinery, which added 13,000 jobs, and transportation
equipment, which reversed its prior month’s decline by
adding 16,000 jobs.  The electronic components industry
continued its strong growth last month, adding 5,000 jobs.
So far this year, employment in this industry has grown by
36,000.
	Also in the goods-producing sector, construction added
20,000 jobs, its largest gain since May, after showing
little trend growth during the summer.  Gains among general
contractors occurred in both residential and nonresidential
construction, and gains in special trades also were broad-
based.
Other industry divisions that posted stronger-than-
average gains in October included transportation and public
utilities, wholesale trade, and finance, insurance, and
real estate. Transportation and public utilities added
29,000 jobs, four times the average of the preceding 5
months.  Wholesale trade gained 22,000 jobs with the
largest increase in machinery distribution.  The finance
industry had an unusually large gain (18,000), with most of
the component industries benefiting.  Real estate
employment grew by 4,000.
Services and retail trade each had employment gains
that were about equal to the average monthly rise for the
past year.  The services industry added 100,000 jobs in
October.  Of particular note was computer services, which
added 15,000 jobs, and engineering and management services,
which gained 19,000 jobs.  Taken together, these two small
industries, which comprise only 4 percent of payroll
employment, have accounted for 1 in 9 of the jobs added in
the past year.  Health services posted a gain of 26,000.
Retail trade added about 37,000 jobs, with the largest
increases occurring in food stores and in miscellaneous
retail establishments.
	The 6-cents-an-hour October gain in average hourly
earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers followed
gains of 4 cents in September and 7 cents in August for a
total of 17 cents over the three months.  This pace of
increase was somewhat more rapid than that set earlier in
the year.  Average hourly earnings have increased 4.2
percent over the year ending in October.
Turning to data from the household survey, the
unemployment rate declined to 4.7 percent.  The rate had
fluctuated in the range from 4.8 percent to 5.0 percent
from April through September.  With the exception of the
unemployment rate for adult women, which declined from 4.4
percent to 4.0 percent in October, the rates for the major
worker groups we reported on this morning were about
unchanged.  The 4.0 rate for adult women in October was the
lowest since January 1970.
In summary, October’s employment gains were widespread
and fairly robust, and unemployment declined over the
month.  Average hourly earnings have risen more rapidly
since July than earlier in the year.
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
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 1997
indicate that there was somewhat stronger job growth than
previously reported for the 12-month period ending in March
1997.  Indications at this time are that the March 1997
payroll employment estimates will be revised upward by
approximately 475,000 or four-tenths of one percent.  The
historical average for benchmark revisions over the past
decade has been plus or minus 0.3 percent, with the
absolute value of the revisions ranging in size from zero
to seven-tenths of one percent.  Final benchmark
adjustments for March 1997 are scheduled to be formally
introduced next June.  In the interim, BLS will continue to
validate the UI universe counts and other benchmark source
material and to conduct detailed analysis of the sources of
the revision.

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

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