FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T.
                            FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 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 Daylight Time.
                              
                        Statement of
                    Katharine G. Abraham
                        Commissioner
                 Bureau of Labor Statistics
                              
                    Friday, June 2, 2000
                              

     Good morning.  I appreciate this opportunity to comment
on the employment and unemployment estimates that we released
this morning.

     Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 231,000 in May,
boosted by the hiring of 357,000 temporary workers for Census
2000.  Private-sector employment declined by 116,000 over the
month, following strong gains in March and April.  The
average monthly gain of 182,000 in private-sector employment
thus far this year is slightly below the average of 202,000
for all of 1999.  The unemployment rate in May returned to
its March level of 4.1 percent, after having dipped to 3.9
percent in April.

     As measured by our establishment survey, job losses
occurred throughout much of the private sector in May.
Construction employment declined by 29,000 over the month
(after seasonal adjustment).  The fluctuations in
construction employment this year, including unusually large
job gains in both January and March and sizable job losses in
each of the other months, make it difficult to assess the
industry's underlying growth trend.  Thus far in 2000,
construction employment growth has averaged 22,000 per month,
about the same as the average for all of 1999.  Mining
employment was little changed in May, following 3 consecutive
months of job growth.

     Manufacturing employment declined by 17,000 in May,
after slight improvements in each of the prior 2 months.
Within durable goods, employment was unchanged over the
month.  There were small employment declines in several
durable goods industries, but employment in electronic
components continued its year-long growth trend.  Within
nondurable goods manufacturing, the long-term employment
declines in textiles, apparel, and chemicals continued.

     Factory overtime declined over the month by 0.4 hour to
4.5 hours, after seasonal adjustment.  The factory workweek
fell 0.8 hour to 41.4 hours after having risen by 0.5 hour in
April.

     Retail trade employment declined by 67,000 in May,
following an unusually large increase of 176,000 in April.
Half of May's decline occurred in eating and drinking places,
which also had posted a large job gain the prior month.

     Job growth in the services industry was tepid in May.
Thus far this year, employment growth in the industry has
averaged 103,000 per month, somewhat below the average
monthly gain in 1999.  Business services employment declined
slightly in May, reflecting a reduction of 36,000 jobs in
help supply, after seasonal adjustment.  Job losses also
occurred in personal services, in hotels (following 2 months
of strong growth), and in motion pictures.  Amusement and
recreation services added 19,000 jobs over the month, twice
the monthly increase of the prior 12 months.  Job growth
resumed in engineering and management services in May, and
private education posted a large job gain of 24,000.

     Employment in finance was about unchanged in May, as
security brokerages continued to add jobs, and commercial
banks and mortgage brokerages continued to shed workers.
Real estate employment has changed little over the past 3
months.

     Employment in transportation and public utilities edged
down over the month, reflecting declines in trucking, air
transportation, and communications.  In May, employment in
wholesale trade changed little, following 2 months of strong
gains.

     The addition of 357,000 temporary workers hired for the
decennial census boosted federal government employment in
May.  In local government, education employment continued to
expand; in state government, employment was little changed.

     Average hourly earnings of private production or
nonsupervisory workers edged up 1 cent in May to $13.65,
following a rise of 6 cents in April.  Over the year, average
hourly earnings have risen by 3.5 percent.

     I would like to note that, in accordance with our
standard practice, these payroll survey figures reflect the
incorporation of regularly scheduled annual benchmark
revisions.  Each year, we adjust our sample-based survey
estimates to full universe counts of employment, derived
principally from the administrative records of the
unemployment insurance tax system.  There is no benchmark
source for the 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 on employment in the March
1999 reference month is an upward adjustment of 258,000, or
about two-tenths of one percent of the total nonfarm
employment level.  This percent adjustment is slightly
smaller than the average for the past decade.  Estimates for
payroll employment for the post-benchmark period, April 1999
forward, also have been revised to incorporate the new
benchmark levels as well as revised seasonal adjustment and
bias adjustment factors.

     In addition to the routine benchmark revisions, all
estimates for the wholesale trade industry from April 1998
forward have been revised to incorporate a new sample design.
Wholesale trade is the first major industry division to be
converted to a probability-based sample under a 4-year phase-
in plan for the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey
sample-redesign project.

     Turning now to our survey of households, the jobless
rate rose to 4.1 percent in May, the same as in the first
quarter of this year.  It had edged down to 3.9 percent in
April.  The unemployment rates for adult women and blacks
rose in May, but the rates for the other major demographic
groups were either unchanged or little changed from April.

     Civilian employment fell by 991,000 in May, and the
proportion of the population that is employed also declined,
to 64.3 percent.  Among the employed, 5.7 percent held more
than one job in May (not seasonally adjusted), down from 5.9
percent a year earlier.

     In summary, private-sector payroll employment declined
in May, although there was a large over-the-month increase in
temporary Census employment, and the jobless rate returned to
its March level of 4.1 percent.



     My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your
questions.