FOR DELIVERY:  9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                         FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2006

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Eastern Standard Time.


                        Statement of
                              
                     Kathleen P. Utgoff
                         Commissioner
                 Bureau of Labor Statistics
                              
                         before the
                              
                  Joint Economic Committee
                              
                   UNITED STATES CONGRESS
                              
                   Friday, March 10, 2006



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

     I appreciate this opportunity to comment on the
employment and unemployment data that we released this
morning.

     Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in February,
and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.8 percent.
February's employment increase reflected gains in construc-
tion, mining, and several service-providing industries.

     Within the goods-producing sector, construction
employment increased by 41,000 in February, following
another sizeable gain in January.  Over the past 12
months, job growth in construction has totaled 346,000.
In February, employment continued to rise in mining,
mainly in support activities, especially those for oil
and gas operations.

     Manufacturing employment overall was virtually
unchanged in February.  There were, however, offsetting
movements in several industries.  The largest job losses
were in motor vehicles and parts and primary metals.  Job
gains occurred in machinery, petroleum products, and com-
puter and electronic products.  The manufacturing workweek
(at 41.0 hours) and factory overtime (at 4.6 hours) each
rose by 0.1 hour.
     
     Over the month, financial activities added 22,000
jobs, reflecting increases in depository institutions and
in insurance carriers.  Health care employment expanded
by 18,000, with continued growth in hospitals, doctors'
offices, and home health care.  Professional and business
services, private education, food services and drinking
places, and government also had job gains in February.

     Average hourly earnings for private production or non-
supervisory workers rose by 5 cents in February, following
increases of 7 cents in both December and January.  Over
the year, hourly earnings increased by 3.5 percent.  The
average workweek was down by 0.1 hour in February to 33.7
hours.
     
     Turning to data from the household survey, both the
number of unemployed persons (7.2 million) and the unem-
ployment rate (4.8 percent) were little changed over the
month.  The number of persons unemployed for 27 weeks or
more returned to its December level of 1.4 million, after
declining in January.  These long-term unemployed consti-
tuted 19.0 percent of all unemployed persons, down slightly
from a year earlier.
     
     Total employment and the labor force continued to trend
up in February.  However, the employment-population ratio
has held steady in recent months, and the labor force
participation rate has shown little movement for about 2 1/2
years.
     
     This month, we again report on the labor force status
of survey respondents who evacuated from their homes due to
Hurricane Katrina.  The data are derived from a special set
of questions that have been included in the household survey
since October to gather information about evacuees.  The
estimates do not account for all persons who evacuated from
their homes due to Hurricane Katrina.  Information is not
gathered on those evacuees who remain outside the scope of
the survey, such as those currently living in hotels or
shelters.
     
     The February data indicate that there were about 1
million persons age 16 and over who evacuated from their
August residences due to Hurricane Katrina.  In February,
about one-half of the evacuees were back in the homes they
vacated in August.  Among Katrina evacuees identified in
February, 58.1 percent were in the labor force, and their
unemployment rate was 12.6 percent.  Unemployment rates were
much lower for those evacuees who had returned home (4.8
percent) than for those evacuees who had not (22.6 percent).
     
     To summarize February's labor market data, nonfarm
payroll employment rose by 243,000, and the unemployment
rate was little changed at 4.8 percent.  Payroll employ-
ment has increased by 2.1 million over the year, and the
unemployment rate is down by about half a percentage point.
     


     My colleagues and I now would be glad to respond to
your questions.