FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 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, January 10, 1997



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

I would like to thank you for this opportunity to
comment on the labor market data released this morning.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 262,000 in
December, with the gains widespread across the major
industries.  Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents over the
month, following a 9-cent gain in November.  The
unemployment rate was unchanged in December at 5.3 percent
(following routine end-of-year revisions to our seasonal
adjustment factors).
The services industry added 112,000 jobs in December;
between May and November, monthly job growth in services
averaged 81,000.  Health services added 16,000 jobs, and
computer and data processing services, which grew by a
robust 11 percent over the year, added 15,000 jobs.  In
amusement and recreation services, employment was up by
12,000 in December and by 87,000 for the year as a whole.
Employment in help supply services increased by 12,000 in
December, following a decline of 30,000 in November and
little change in September and October.  Even with the
recent weakness, this industry was one of the largest job
gainers over the year.
Retail trade employment increased by 48,000 in
December.  This increase was about the same as the average
monthly gain in 1996, although month-to-month changes in
the industry’s employment levels were erratic during the
year.  This volatility was, to a large degree, tied to
swings in employment in eating and drinking places.
Employment in miscellaneous retail establishments, such as
drug stores, gift shops, and catalog retailers, rose by
15,000 in December; job gains in this diverse industry have
totaled 77,000 since May.  Jobs were added over the month
both in furniture and home furnishings stores and in
building and garden supply stores; these industries were
among the fastest growing in 1996.
Turning to the goods-producing sector, the
construction industry added 23,000 jobs for the second
straight month in December, boosted in part by milder-than-
usual weather across most of the country.  Employment in
the industry was strong in 1996, rising by 287,000, more
than two-and-a-half times the 1995 increase.
Manufacturing added 19,000 jobs in December, following
no change in November and a gain of 13,000 in October.
Despite this modest resurgence, the industry ended 1996
with 94,000 fewer jobs than at yearend 1995.  The over-the-
year declines were concentrated in three nondurable goods
manufacturing industries:  apparel, which lost 61,000 jobs;
food products, which lost 22,000; and textiles, which lost
20,000.  In durable goods manufacturing, employment in
aircraft and parts increased by 5,000 in December and has
risen by 28,000 since June.  Instruments and related
products also experienced job gains over the month.
Employment in electronic equipment declined by 4,000 in
December.  This industry has lost 14,000 jobs since its
most recent peak in July, after having been one of the few
manufacturing industries to experience steady job growth
during 1995 and early 1996.
Government employment increased by 31,000 in December,
even as declines continued at the Federal level.  Most of
the seasonally adjusted increase in government employment
in December resulted from a change in the employment
pattern for election workers this year; fewer than normal
were reported on payrolls in November, so fewer were
subsequently let go.
Average hourly earnings of production or
nonsupervisory workers in the private sector rose 6 cents
in December, reaching $12.05 per hour.  This follows an
even larger gain of 9 cents per hour in November.  Over the
year, average hourly earnings rose by 44 cents, or 3.8
percent.  This compares with increases of 3.2 percent in
1995 and 2.7 percent in 1994.
Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers rose 0.3 hour in December to 34.8 hours.  Month-to-
month changes in weekly hours have varied widely throughout
1996.  Average hours in manufacturing also rose 0.3 hour in
December, reaching 42.0 hours.  Factory overtime rose 0.2
hour to 4.7 hours.  In 1996, these factory workweek
measures recouped most of the losses they had sustained in
1995 and have returned to near-record levels.
Turning now to our survey of households, the
unemployment rate was unchanged in December at 5.3 percent.
Unemployment rates for the major demographic groups showed
little or no change.  The total civilian employment level
also was little changed over the month, although it
increased by 2.8 million over the year.  The number of
persons at work part time for economic reasons increased by
355,000 in December, reversing a similar decline in
November.  Before concluding, I would like to note that
this is the month in which we update our seasonal
adjustment factors and make annual revisions to previously
published seasonally adjusted household survey estimates to
reflect an additional year’s worth of information on
seasonal variations in labor market activity.  All the
seasonally adjusted household data in today’s news release
reflect these revisions.
In summary, nonfarm payroll employment continued to
expand in December, and unemployment was unchanged.
Average hourly earnings showed a sizable increase for the
second straight month.  For all of 1996, payroll employment
rose by 2.6 million, compared with an increase of 2.2
million in 1995.  The unemployment rate edged down somewhat
in the second half of 1996 and, at 5.3 percent, was three-
tenths of a percentage point lower in December than it was
a year earlier.

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

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