FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1998


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 Standard Time.

Statement of

Katharine G. Abraham
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

before the

Joint Economic Committee

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Friday, February 6, 1998




Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to 
comment on the labor market data released this morning.  
The unemployment rate was unchanged in January at 4.7 
percent.  Nonfarm payroll employment, as measured by our 
establishment survey, increased by 358,000 over the month, 
and total employment, as measured by our household survey, 
rose substantially as well.  Payroll employment rose in 
most of the major industry groups, with particularly strong 
gains in manufacturing and construction. 
Construction employment jumped by 92,000 in January.  
Job gains in the industry have totaled 184,000 over the 
last 3 months, partly reflecting the strong housing market.  
Unusually warm weather during January in many parts of the 
country, together with clean up and repairs following 
severe ice storms in the Northeast, contributed to the 
over-the-month growth.  
Manufacturing added 43,000 jobs in January, about the 
same number as in each of the previous three months.  
Several industries that added jobs throughout 1997 
continued hiring in January; these included fabricated 
metal products (8,000), industrial machinery (7,000), 
electronic components (4,000), and aircraft and parts 
(2,000).  Within nondurable goods, long-term employment 
declines continued in apparel (-5,000), textiles (-3,000) 
and leather products (-1,000), while rubber and 
miscellaneous plastics showed an over-the-month gain 
(6,000).
Following two very strong months, the services 
industry added 89,000 jobs in January; this compared to an 
average monthly gain of 115,000 in 1997.  Employment in 
help supply services, which grew by 57,000 in November and 
30,000 in December, declined by 16,000 in January.  Health 
services expanded more slowly than average, as over-the- 
month employment declines in home health care services and 
nursing homes offset continued growth in hospitals.  
Computer and data processing services and engineering and 
management services continued their rapid growth, adding 
16,000 and 22,000 jobs, respectively.
Retail trade added 24,000 jobs in January, about half 
the monthly average for 1997.  Employment in department 
stores rose by 31,000 over the month.  Following robust 
holiday hiring, however, seasonal layoffs were larger than 
usual in miscellaneous retail establishments--such as toy 
stores, book stores, and catalogue sales houses--which lost 
25,000 jobs over the month.  Wholesale trade employment 
rose by 30,000 over the month, with strength in both 
durable and nondurable goods distribution.
Employment in transportation was up 40,000 in January, 
driven by increases of 27,000 in air transportation 
(offsetting an almost-identical decline in December) and 
10,000 in trucking.  Communications employment rose by 
10,000 in January; the industry has added 51,000 jobs over 
the past year.
Real estate had an unusually strong month, adding 
10,000 jobs.  The employment gain of 12,000 in finance was 
in line with monthly average gains in 1997 and was led by a 
5,000 increase in security and commodity brokerages. 
Government employment was about unchanged over the 
month. Since January 1997, state and local government 
employment has increased by 291,000, while Federal payrolls 
have declined by 39,000.
Average hourly earnings of production or 
nonsupervisory workers in the private sector increased by 4 
cents in January, to $12.51.  Over the year, hourly 
earnings rose by 46 cents or 3.8 percent. 
Turning to data from the household survey, the 
unemployment rate was unchanged over the month at 4.7 
percent.  The rate for adult men fell slightly, to 3.8 
percent, and that for adult women was up, to 4.4 percent.  
The rates for other major worker groups were about 
unchanged.  Total civilian employment grew by 641,000 in 
January, after adjusting for the effects of minor changes 
in our estimation procedures that I will discuss in a 
moment.  (These changes did not significantly affect 
estimated unemployment rates.)  Both employment and labor 
force growth have accelerated sharply during the last 3 
months. 
I would like to note that today's Employment Situation 
news release includes a new table on labor force status by 
educational attainment.  I consider this an important 
addition, since education is a critical determinant of 
labor market success.  The unemployment rate for those with 
less than a high school education, for example, is nearly 4 
times that for college graduates.
The new estimation procedures that I alluded to 
earlier are being used to produce all estimates from the 
household survey beginning with today's data for January 
1998.  These new composite estimation procedures simplify 
processing of the monthly labor force data, allow users of 
the survey microdata to replicate more easily the official 
estimates, and slightly reduce the month-to-month 
variability of the employment and labor force estimates.  
As a result of the introduction of the new procedures, 
beginning in January, labor force and employment levels are 
not strictly comparable to data for previous months.  
Unemployment rates were virtually unaffected. An article to 
appear in the February 1998 issue of Employment and 
Earnings will provide estimates of the effect of the 
changes on major labor market indicators for various 
demographic groups.
In summary, employment rose sharply in January, with 
continued strength in manufacturing and construction.  The 
civilian unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent.  

My colleagues and I now would be glad to respond to 
your questions. 
5