FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2000

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 7, 2000



     Good morning.  I am pleased to have this opportunity to
discuss the December employment and unemployment estimates
that we released this morning.

     The unemployment rate was unchanged in December at 4.1
percent.  The fourth quarter average, also 4.1 percent, was
down from 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 1998.  Nonfarm
payroll employment, as measured by our establishment survey,
expanded by 315,000 to 129.9 million in December, with
251,000 of these jobs added in the private sector.  Over the
past year, payroll employment rose by 2.7 million, or 2.1
percent.  That compared to 2.9 million, or 2.4 percent, in
1998.

     Manufacturing employment was virtually unchanged in
December.  Following job losses averaging 36,000 per month in
the first half of the year, and 10,000 per month in the third
quarter, factory employment held steady in the fourth
quarter.  In December, the largest job gains were in food
products (5,000) and rubber and miscellaneous plastics
(4,000).  Several industries continued their declining
employment trends, including apparel (-5,000) and aircraft (-
4,000).

     The factory workweek was unchanged in December, at 41.7
hours, while factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 4.7
hours.

     Employment in construction rose by 16,000 in December,
as heavy construction added 12,000 jobs.  Over the year, job
gains in construction totaled 212,000.  Mining employment
edged up in December.  The job count in mining stabilized
during the second half of the year, after falling steadily
during most of 1998 and the first half of 1999.

     The services industry added 109,000 jobs in December,
slightly below the average monthly gain of 122,000 for the
first 11 months of the year.  A large employment increase in
business services reflected continued strength in personnel
supply and computer and data processing services.
Engineering and management services had an above-average
employment increase (23,000), as did health services
(16,000).  In contrast, amusements and recreation,
agricultural services, and hotels all lost jobs.

     Retail trade employment rose by 65,000 in December,
twice the average monthly gain for the first 11 months of
1999.  Over-the-month job gains were registered in general
merchandise stores (34,000), eating and drinking places
(27,000), automobile dealers and service stations (10,000),
furniture stores (8,000), and food stores (7,000).  Job
losses occurred in miscellaneous retail establishments

(-16,000) and apparel stores (-8,000).  Wholesale trade added
16,000 jobs in December, about average for the year.

     Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate
increased by 12,000, its average monthly gain in 1999.
Finance employment rose substantially, but both insurance and
real estate employment were little changed.

     Transportation and public utilities added 32,000 jobs in
December, twice the average for 1999 through November.  Large
job gains occurred in trucking and in air transportation.

     Average weekly hours of private production or
nonsupervisory workers were unchanged at 34.5 hours.  Average
hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory
workers rose by 6 cents in December to $13.46.  Earnings rose
by 11 cents in each of the last 2 quarters of the year,
following increases of 13 cents in each of the first 2
quarters.  Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.7
percent, compared with an over-the-year increase of 3.8
percent for 1998.

     Turning now to the data from our survey of households,
the unemployment rate was unchanged in December at 4.1
percent, and has remained under 4.4 percent since March.  The
rates for all of the major demographic groups (adult men,
adult women, teenagers, whites, blacks, and Hispanics) have
been fairly stable in recent months.

     Total civilian employment continued to rise, increasing
by nearly 800,000 in the last 3 months of the year.  The
employment-population ratio edged up to 64.4 percent in
December, matching its previous high.  The number of persons
who held more than one job in December totaled 8.0 million
(not seasonally adjusted).  These multiple jobholders made up
6.0 percent of the total employed, down slightly from 6.2
percent a year earlier.

     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 1995.  All
of the seasonally adjusted household data in today’s news
release reflect these revisions.

     In summary, the unemployment rate, which remained at a
30-year low of 4.1 percent in December, was down from its
year-earlier level of 4.4 percent.  Payroll employment rose
over the month; the jobs count grew by 2.7 million, or 2.1
percent, over the past year, somewhat less than in the prior
year.



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

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