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                        Statement of
                              
                     Kathleen P. Utgoff
                              
                        Commissioner
                              
                 Bureau of Labor Statistics
                              
                    Friday, April 4, 2003
                              

     Overall, labor market conditions remained relatively
weak in March.  Nonfarm payroll employment declined by
108,000 over the month, following a steep job loss of
357,000 in February (as revised).  In March, job losses
continued in manufacturing, retail trade, and transporta-
tion, and a job loss occurred in government.  The unemploy-
ment rate held at 5.8 percent.

     Looking in more detail at the March data from our
survey of employers, manufacturing employment fell by
36,000.  Since last July, factory job losses have averaged
about 50,000 per month.  In March, the losses were again
widespread.  In fact, there were no significant employment
gains in any of the component manufacturing industries.  The
most notable job decrease occurred in industrial machinery 
(-8,000), where losses have totaled nearly 100,000 in the 
past year and more than 330,000 since the recession started
2 years ago.  The manufacturing workweek was unchanged in
March, at 40.8 hours, and factory overtime edged down by one-
tenth of an hour to 4.0 hours.

     Construction employment edged up by 21,000 in March,
following a decline of 42,000 in February.  On net, employ-
ment in the industry has been unchanged since April 2002.

     Retail trade employment declined by 43,000 in March,
mostly in eating and drinking places.  Employment in retail
trade has been trending downward since its peak in June
2001, and losses have totaled 470,000.  Employment in
wholesale trade was little changed for the third month in a
row.

     Employment in services was flat over the month, after
sustaining a very large loss of 121,000 in February (as
revised).  Amusement and recreation services and hotels and
other lodging places lost jobs on a seasonally adjusted
basis, as each industry fell considerably short of its
normal seasonal hiring in March.  Agricultural services also
failed to meet its normal March hiring, and, as a result,
employment declined by 15,000 after seasonal adjustment.
Employment in help supply services fell by 48,000 in March,
the first loss in 4 months and the largest since September
2002.  Employment declines continued in computer and data
processing services (-10,000).  Job gains did occur else-
where in services, however.  For example, job growth in
health services resumed, following a month in which employ-
ment was unchanged.  Hiring in auto repair, educational,
and social services also helped to moderate job losses
in March.

     The transportation sector suffered another job loss
over the month.  Since January 2001, job losses in the
industry have totaled 301,000, more than half coming in the
3 months following the September 11 attacks.

     Employment growth was quite tepid in mortgage banking
in March.  This industry accounted for 70 percent of job
growth in the finance, insurance, and real estate industry
over the past year, as more consumers sought to take
advantage of low interest rates by buying homes or
refinancing existing mortgages.

     From March 2001, when the recession began, to February
2003, the government sector had added an average of 26,000
jobs a month.  In March, however, employment declined by
40,000, with most of the loss occurring in local education.

     In March, average hourly earnings for production and
nonsupervisory workers rose by 2 cents to $15.10.  Combined
with an unusually large increase of 9 cents in February (as
revised) and a 1-cent rise in January, the quarterly total
of 12 cents is very much in line with its recent pace.  Over
the year, average hourly earnings grew by 3.1 percent.

     Looking at some of our measures obtained from the
survey of households, the March unemployment rate of 5.8
percent was the same as in February and within the 5.6-to-
6.0-percent range that has prevailed since November 2001.
The jobless rates for adult men and adult women were
unchanged over the month, and the rates for other major
worker groups were little changed.

     There was little movement in other measures of
unemployment as well.  About 8.4 million persons were
unemployed in March, of whom nearly 1.8 million had been
jobless for 27 weeks or longer.

     In summary, labor market conditions remained sluggish
in March.  Payroll job losses continued and the unemployment
rate held at 5.8 percent.