TEXT

 
 
 
                                       FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                                       FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1994
 
 
 
           ___________________________________________________________
           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 time.  ____________________________________________
 
 
                                   Statement of
 
                               Katharine G. Abraham
                                   Commissioner
                            Bureau of Labor Statistics
 
                                    before the
 
                             Joint Economic Committee
 
                              UNITED STATES CONGRESS
 
                                 December 2, 1994
 
 
 
                      Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
 
 
                It is again a pleasure to be here to offer a few
 
           comments on the Nation's employment situation.
 
                The labor market improved further in November.
 
           Unemployment declined over the month, and employment as
 
           measured by both our employer and household surveys
 
           continued to grow.  The jobless rate fell two-tenths of a
 
           percentage point to 5.6 percent and has dropped by 1.1
 
           points since the beginning of the year.
 
                Nonfarm payroll jobs rose by 350,000 in November, with
 
           the largest gains in services, construction, and
 
           manufacturing.  Employment in services rose by 147,000, for
 
                                        -2-
 
 
           its largest increase since July.  Nearly two-thirds of this
 
           growth occurred in business services, with a relatively
 
           large gain in the personnel supply component.
 
                The construction industry added 71,000 jobs in November
 
           (after seasonal adjustment), following little change in
 
           October.  The return of some construction workers in the
 
           Southeast who were unable to work during the heavy and
 
           prolonged October rains added to the November total.  It is
 
           also likely that, because of the early reference week
 
           (November 6-12), fewer seasonal construction layoffs than
 
           normal were recorded.  The industry has shown very strong
 
           underlying job growth this year, although the month-to-month
 
           movements in employment have been somewhat erratic.   Since
 
           reaching a low point in July 1992, the number of
 
           construction jobs has risen by about 575,000, for an average
 
           gain of 20,000 jobs per month.
 
                Manufacturing employment continued to expand with an
 
           increase of 51,000 in November.  Since its September 1993
 
           low, more than a quarter of a million factory jobs have been
 
           added.  Widespread over-the-month gains occurred in durable
 
           goods industries, including lumber, fabricated metals,
 
           industrial machinery, and electronic equipment.  Each of
 
           these industries has added a large number of jobs over the
 
           14-month period.  Both the average workweek in manufacturing
 
           and factory overtime held steady in November at their very
 
           high levels.
 
                                         -3-
 
 
                Elsewhere, smaller job gains were spread among several
 
           industries.  Local government employment rose by 18,000,
 
           reflecting the hiring of temporary workers to handle the
 
           November elections.  There was only a small increase in the
 
           number of retail trade jobs, although the early survey week
 
           may have preceded some of the normal November holiday
 
           hiring.
 
                Average hourly earnings for private production or
 
           nonsupervisory workers declined by 2 cents over the month,
 
           after rising by an unusually large 7 cents (as revised) in
 
           the prior month.  The 2-month change is in line with longer-
 
           term trends.
 
                Data from the household survey indicate that total
 
           employment rose by 372,000 in November, the fourth straight
 
           month of marked gains.  Since January, total employment has
 
           increased by 2.6 million.  The employer survey has
 
           registered an increase of 3.0 million jobs over the same
 
           period.
 
                The number of unemployed persons has declined by 1.4
 
           million since January to 7.3 million, and, as I mentioned at
 
           the outset of my remarks, the unemployment rate has declined
 
           by 1.1 percentage points.  Jobless rates for adult men,
 
           women, and teenagers all have shown marked improvement since
 
           January, as have the rates for whites, blacks, and persons
 
           of Hispanic origin.
 
                                        -4-
 
 
                As unemployment has declined over the course of the
 
           year to date, there has been heightened interest in how
 
           current rates compare to those reported for earlier points
 
           in time.  On several occasions, I have counseled members of
 
           this Committee and others against directly comparing figures
 
           from the "new" household survey introduced this past January
 
           with pre-1994 data from the former survey.  The information
 
           available as of the start of the year led us to believe that
 
           the introduction of the redesigned survey would raise the
 
           measured unemployment rate by about 0.6 percentage point.
 
           Research currently under way at the Bureau, however,
 
           suggests that the probable effect of the survey redesign on
 
           the overall unemployment rate was smaller, raising the
 
           unemployment rate by perhaps 0.2 percentage point.
 
                In summary, the labor market continued to improve in
 
           November.  Both of our surveys showed substantial employment
 
           growth, and the unemployment rate, at 5.6 percent, has
 
           continued to trend downward.
 
 
 
                My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer any
 
           questions you might have.