FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 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, February 4, 2000



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

     Nonfarm payroll employment expanded by 387,000 in
January.  This relatively large increase reflected unusually
mild weather during the survey reference period (the pay
period including January 12).  The unemployment rate was 4.0
percent in January, essentially unchanged from the rate in
the prior 3 months (4.1 percent).

     Construction employment was up by 116,000 in January
(after seasonal adjustment), due in large part to the
unseasonably warm weather during the reference period.  The
gains within construction were widespread, but the largest
were in those industries most influenced by the weather-
—heavy construction and the concrete, masonry, and roofing
trades.

     Manufacturing employment edged up by 13,000 in January.
The largest gains were in autos and electrical equipment.  In
autos, seasonal layoffs were smaller than usual.  Employment
also rose in several construction-related manufacturing
industries, such as plywood, concrete, and fabricated
structural metals.  Other industries continued their
declining trends, however, including industrial machinery,
aircraft, textiles and apparel.

     Employment in oil and gas extraction rose in January;
the industry has added 9,000 jobs since August 1999.

     Services had an above-average job gain of 152,000 in
January.  Strong advances occurred in agricultural services
(which no doubt was helped by mild weather), computer
services, amusements and recreation, health services, and
social services.  Below-average job gains occurred in
engineering and management services, and there were losses in
hotels and private education.

     Retail trade employment rose by 43,000 in January.
Building materials stores and automotive dealers and service
stations continued to add jobs; apparel stores and
miscellaneous retail establishments increased employment
following declines in November and December.  Department
stores, on the other hand, lost 33,000 jobs in January,
reversing a gain in December.  Wholesale trade had an above-
average job increase (19,000), mostly due to strength in its
nondurable goods component.

     Finance, insurance, and real estate experienced an
employment decline (-9,000) in January, its first since
mid-1995.  Job losses in mortgage banking and in insurance
were partially offset by a large gain in real estate; the
increase in real estate seems likely to have been weather-
related.

     Transportation and public utilities added 16,000 jobs in
January.  Above-average job gains occurred in local and
interurban transit and in air transportation, but they were
partly offset by declines in water transportation and
transportation services.

     Government employment grew by 35,000 in January.  At the
federal level, 11,000 temporary census workers were added to
the payroll.

     Average weekly hours of private production or
nonsupervisory workers rose by 0.1 hour to 34.6 hours in
January. The factory workweek also rose by 0.1 hour to 41.7
hours, while factory overtime fell by 0.1 hour to 4.6 hours.

     Average hourly earnings of private production or
nonsupervisory workers rose by 6 cents in January to $13.50.
Following gains of 13 cents in each of the first 2 quarters
of 1999, average hourly earnings growth was 11 cents in the
third quarter and 9 cents in the fourth quarter (as revised).
Over the 12 months ending in January 2000, hourly earnings
increased by 3.5 percent.

     Turning now to the data from our survey of households,
the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in January at
4.0 percent.  It has remained under 4.2 percent since October
1999.  The rates for all of the major demographic groups
(adult men, adult women, teenagers, whites, blacks, and
Hispanics) were relatively stable in January.

     Total civilian employment jumped by 918,000 over the
month, after adjustment for revisions in population controls
introduced in January.  The employment-population ratio rose
to a record 64.8 percent.  The number of persons who held
more than one job totaled 7.6 million (not seasonally
adjusted).  These multiple jobholders made up 5.7 percent of
the total employed, down slightly from 6.0 percent a year
earlier.

     This month we are introducing a seasonally adjusted
estimate for the number of people who are not in the labor
force but who indicate that they want a job.  In January,
there were about 4.3 million people in this category, down
from 4.5 million the previous month.

     In summary, employment rose sharply over the month, in
part reflecting a particularly warm survey reference period
that resulted in fewer layoffs in construction and other
weather-sensitive industries.  The unemployment rate was
little changed at 4.0 percent.


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

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