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

Statement of

Katharine G. Abraham
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, January 9, 1998





Good morning.  I am pleased to have this opportunity
to comment on the employment and unemployment data that we
released this morning.
The unemployment rate, at 4.7 percent, was about
unchanged from November, and the number of nonfarm payroll
jobs increased by 370,000.  Employment gains were spread
across most major industries.  Average hourly earnings were
about unchanged following four consecutive monthly
increases totalling 23 cents.
For all of 1997, payroll employment expanded by 3.2
million, compared with 2.5 million in 1996, and average
hourly earnings grew by 3.7 percent.  The unemployment rate
declined by 0.6 percentage point over the year to 4.7
percent.
Looking at December data from our nonfarm payroll
survey, the construction industry showed strength for the
second month in a row, adding 50,000 jobs.  Job growth was
widespread across the industry; heavy construction had its
first increase since August.  Employment in construction
rose by 209,000 over the year, compared with 289,000 in
1996.
A strong gain of 39,000 factory jobs followed gains of
similar magnitude in both October and November.  The total
fourth-quarter increase was 125,000.  Over the year,
manufacturing employment grew by 230,000, after having
declined by 55,000 in 1996.  Within manufacturing, lumber
and wood products added the most jobs (7,000) over the
month.  December gains also occurred in several industries
that had grown throughout 1997--fabricated metals,
industrial machinery and equipment, electronic components,
and aircraft and parts.  Employment in auto manufacturing
declined by 9,000 over the month, partially offsetting a
gain of 18,000 in November.
In the service-producing sector, the services industry
added 181,000 jobs, the largest monthly increase of the
year.  Services employment grew by a total of 1.4 million
during 1997, compared with 1.2 million in 1996.   Help
supply services and employment agencies each contributed to
the large gain in personnel supply (45,000) over the month.
Computer services added 17,000 jobs in December.  This
industry, which comprises only about 1 percent of nonfarm
payroll employment, added 162,000 jobs during 1997, about 5
percent of the increase in total payroll employment.
Employment in the engineering and management services
industry also continued to expand rapidly, with payrolls
increasing by 26,000 in December.  Health services showed a
notable increase as well, with about half of the 26,000 job
gain occurring in hospitals.
December gains also were above average in legal
services (5,000), social services (15,000), motion pictures
(12,000), and membership organizations (10,000).  While
most services industries had sizable employment gains over
the year, a few did not; growth was sluggish in 1997 in
hotels and other lodging places, services to buildings,
nursing and personal care facilities, home health care, and
membership organizations, and employment was about
unchanged in personal services.
Retail trade added 52,000 jobs in December, following
an unusually large increase in November (115,000).  Eating
and drinking places and miscellaneous retail establishments
(which include drug stores, book stores, florists, and
catalog retailers, among others) contributed most of the
December increase. Employment in department stores declined
by 11,000 after seasonal adjustment, as more holiday-
related hiring than is typical already had occurred in
November.  The over-the-year gain in retail trade
employment totaled 513,000, compared with 572,000 in 1996.
Wholesale trade employment grew by 13,000 in December,
about equal to the average monthly gain in 1997.
The finance industry continued to expand, as payrolls
grew by 13,000 in December.  Commercial banks and security
brokerages both added workers, while the job count in
mortgage banking was unchanged for the second month in a
row.  The insurance industry showed an unusually large gain
of 12,000 jobs in December.
Air transportation employment declined by 21,000 in
December, after seasonal adjustment; over-the-year
employment gains in the industry totalled 67,000.  Job
growth continued to be strong in the communications
industry.
Government employment edged up by 22,000 in December,
due mostly to a gain in the non-education component of
local government.  Over the year, federal government
employment declined by 39,000, while state and local
governments added 57,000 and 252,000 jobs, respectively.
Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory
workers declined by 0.2 hour to 34.6 hours in December,
offsetting most of the 0.3 hour gain in November.  Average
hours in manufacturing, however, increased by 0.2 hour to
42.3 hours, a post-World War II high.  Manufacturing
overtime was unchanged at 4.9 hours per week.
Average hourly earnings of production or
nonsupervisory workers in the private sector grew by 1
cent, to $12.48, following 4 months of relatively large
increases. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by
3.7 percent.
Turning now to our survey of households, the
unemployment rate was about unchanged at 4.7 percent in
December.  The unemployment rate for adult men edged up
two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.1 percent after
declining by the same amount in November.  Rates for the
other worker groups showed no significant change.  Civilian
employment was also about unchanged over the month, but was
up by 2.6 million over the year.  The employment-to-
population ratio, 64.1 percent at year's end, was at an
all-time high.
Before concluding, I would like to note that this is
the month in which we update our seasonal adjustment
factors and make revisions to previously published
seasonally adjusted household survey estimates going back
to January 1994.  All of 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 about unchanged.
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory
workers increased only slightly.

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

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