FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T.
                            FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2001

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 Daylight Time.

                        Statement of

                    Katharine G. Abraham
                        Commissioner
                 Bureau of Labor Statistics

                    Friday, June 1, 2001


     Good morning.  I appreciate the opportunity to comment
on the labor market data we released this morning.

     The job market remained weak in May, although the
weakness was not as pronounced or quite as widespread as in
April.  Total nonfarm payroll employment held nearly steady,
edging down by just 19,000 following the steep loss of
182,000 jobs (as revised) in April.  The unemployment rate
was little changed over the month at 4.4 percent.

     Manufacturing employment fell by 124,000 in May,
bringing factory job losses thus far this year to 470,000.
To put this recent string of large employment reductions in
perspective, the job losses in the industry over the first
5 months of this year have been roughly equivalent to the
deepest job cutbacks observed during the contraction of the
early 1990s.  In May, factory job losses were again
widespread, with the largest declines occurring in electrical
equipment, industrial machinery, fabricated metals, and
autos.  The manufacturing workweek fell two-tenths of an hour
in May, to 40.8 hours, while overtime was unchanged at
3.9 hours.

     In stark contrast to the recent pattern of large factory
job cuts, employment generally has trended upward in the
other two goods-producing industries, mining and
construction.  In construction, employment rose by 31,000 in
May, following a large decline of 78,000 in April that could
in part have been weather-related.  The average monthly job
gain in construction this year through May was 18,000, in
line with the average monthly gain for all of last year.  The
mining industry also added jobs in May, mostly in oil and gas
extraction.  Employment in oil drilling has been increasing
since the fall of 1999, reflecting the steep rise in oil
prices over the period.  Since September 1999, the number of
jobs in oil and gas extraction has grown by 47,000.

     Job growth in the service-producing sector of the
economy remained sluggish in May.  Within the sector, the
services industry added 42,000 jobs, following a decline of
78,000 in April.  The growth trend in services has slowed
considerably since last fall.  Much of this slowdown can be
traced to weakness in business services, particularly its
help supply component.  Employment in business services
continued to decline in May, but, unlike the recent pattern,
the loss was not attributable to cutbacks in help supply
services, but rather to declines elsewhere in the industry.
Also within services, employment in hotels and other lodging
places has fallen in each of the last 2 months, and this
month's small increase in amusements and recreation failed to
offset last month's sharp drop.  In contrast, there was
continued job growth in social, health, and educational
services.

     Wholesale trade lost 14,000 jobs in May, continuing its
recent downward trend, with the bulk of the job loss
occurring among distributors of durable goods.  Employment at
the retail trade level was little changed over the month, as
there were offsetting gains and losses among its component
industries.

     In May, there was noteworthy job growth in finance and
in the real estate industry.  Finance employment expanded by
9,000, with gains in commercial banks and in mortgage
banking.  Employment in mortgage banking has been trending
upward this year, likely reflecting increased refinancing
activity spurred by low mortgage interest rates.  The real
estate industry added 10,000 jobs in May.  Although new and
existing home sales have softened a bit recently, home sales
are still at a very high level.

     Finally from the payroll data for May, average hourly
earnings rose 4 cents over the month; since May of last year,
hourly earnings have risen 4.3 percent.

     I would like to note that, in accordance with our
standard practice, these payroll survey figures incorporate
regularly scheduled annual benchmark revisions.  Each year,
we adjust our sample-based survey estimates to full universe
counts of employment, derived principally from administrative
records of the unemployment insurance tax system.  There is
no benchmark source for hours and earnings data, but these
series also may be affected by the benchmark process because
of changes in the industry employment weights and the
introduction of new seasonal factors.

     The impact of the revisions in the March 2000 reference
month is an upward adjustment of 468,000, or about four-
tenths of one percent of the total nonfarm employment level.
This percentage adjustment is slightly larger than the
average for the past decade.  Payroll employment estimates
for the post-benchmark period, April 2000 forward, also have
been revised to incorporate the new benchmark levels as well
as revised seasonal adjustment factors, bias factors, and
business birth/death models.

     In addition to the routine benchmark revision, all
estimates for the mining and manufacturing industries from
April 1999 forward have been revised to incorporate a new
sample design.  Construction industry estimates from April
2000 forward incorporate the new sample design.  These
industries are the second group of industries to convert to a
probability-based sample under a 4-year phase-in plan for the
Current Employment Statistics survey sample-redesign project.

     As I mentioned at the outset of my statement, the
jobless rate was 4.4 percent in May, about the same as in
April.  Although little changed over the month, the
unemployment rate has edged up from its recent low of
3.9 percent in October of last year.  Unemployment rates for
the major demographic groups showed little or no change over
the month.

     Civilian employment edged down over the month, as did
the employment-population ratio.  At 63.9 percent in May, the
employment-population ratio is down 0.9 percentage point from
its all-time record high set in April of last year.



     In summary, total nonfarm payroll employment held nearly
steady in May, following a large decline in April.  There was
another steep job loss in manufacturing and the employment
situation in several other industries remained relatively
weak.  The unemployment rate was little changed over the
month at 4.4 percent, but is up half a percentage point since
last fall.



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

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