FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 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 Standard Time.

Statement of

Katharine G. Abraham
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, December 3, 1999




Good morning.  I am pleased to have this opportunity to
discuss the November 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 4.1 percent in November and has
been below 4.3 percent since August.  Nonfarm payroll
employment, as measured by our establishment survey, rose by
234,000 in November, in line with average monthly growth for
the prior 12 months.
In November, employment in the services industry rose
by 120,000, following an above-average increase of 172,000
in October.  Business services again accounted for a large
proportion of the over-the-month increase.  Employment in
computer and data processing services continued to rise,
although the pace of job growth has slowed in recent months.
Elsewhere in the services industry, employment in social
services expanded by 25,000, and health services added
14,000 jobs.  Aided by unseasonably warm weather during the
survey reference period, the number of jobs in agricultural
services rose by 10,000 in November (seasonally adjusted),
the largest gain this year.  Employment in engineering and
management services rose by 9,000 in November, less than
half the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months.
Elsewhere in the service-producing sector, November job
growth totaled 15,000 in transportation, 8,000 in finance,
insurance, and real estate, and 6,000 in wholesale trade.
Employment in retail trade was about unchanged, as a gain in
eating and drinking places offset declines in miscellaneous
retail, apparel, and furniture stores.  Government
employment rose by 31,000, with the November gain
concentrated in State education and local governments.
In the goods-producing sector of the economy, the
number of construction jobs rose by 55,000 in November (on a
seasonally adjusted basis), following an increase of 20,000
in October.  The November increase in construction may have
been boosted somewhat by the unseasonably warm, dry weather.
Over the past year, job gains in construction have totaled
283,000.
The number of factory jobs was little changed in
November.  Job losses in manufacturing have eased in recent
months.  Since June, job declines have averaged 9,000 per
month, compared to average monthly job losses of 36,000
during the first half of the year.  In November, job losses
continued in durable goods manufacturing, especially in
transportation equipment.  In nondurable goods, employment
in food products rose by 8,000 in November, after showing no
change in the prior month.  The number of jobs in apparel
manufacturing continued to decline; since employment in this
industry last peaked in November 1991, more than 1 in every
3 jobs has been lost.
Average weekly hours of private production or
nonsupervisory workers edged up by 0.1 hour over the month
to 34.6 hours.  The manufacturing workweek declined slightly
(by 0.1 hour) in November to 41.7 hours, and factory
overtime was unchanged at 4.7 hours.  Average hourly
earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers
rose by 2 cents in November, following an increase of 4
cents in October (as revised).  Over the year, average
hourly earnings rose by 3.6 percent.
Turning to data from the household survey, the jobless
rate held at 4.1 percent in November.  Unemployment rates
for all the major demographic groups were little changed
over the month.
The number of persons employed part time even though
they would have preferred full-time work--sometimes referred
to as the “visibly underemployed”--was 3.2 million in
November, about the same level as a year earlier.
Civilian employment was essentially unchanged in
November and the proportion of the working age population
that was employed, at 64.3 percent, also was little changed.
Six percent of the employed held more than one job (not
seasonally adjusted), down slightly from 6.3 percent in
November 1998.
Among persons not in the labor force, there were about
1.1 million individuals (not seasonally adjusted) who were
classified as “marginally attached” to the labor market in
November, down slightly from the year earlier.  These are
persons who want and are available for work and looked for
employment at some point in the past year, but are not
currently searching for a job.  The number of discouraged
workers, a subset of this group who have stopped looking
because they believe their search would be in vain, was
272,000 in November (not seasonally adjusted), somewhat
lower than a year earlier.
In summary, payroll employment rose by 234,000 in
November.  The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1
percent.

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

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