TEXT

 
 FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T.
                            FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1996
 
 
 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, July 5, 1996
 
 
 
 
         Good morning.  I am pleased to be here to comment on
 the employment and unemployment data that were released
 this morning.
         Payroll employment continued to expand in June, and
 the unemployment rate declined to 5.3 percent.
         Nonfarm payroll employment, as measured by the
 establishment survey, grew by 239,000 in June, following
 a larger increase in the prior month.  The average
 monthly gain in nonfarm payrolls was 265,000 in the
 second quarter of this year, compared with 200,000 in the
 first quarter and 173,000 in the latter half of 1995.
         Much of the recent pickup in employment growth is
 due to strength in the retail trade industry.  The
 industry added 75,000 workers in June, its third straight
 month of robust job growth following essentially no net
 growth in the first quarter.  Almost half of the June
 increase in retail trade was in eating and drinking
 places.  Retailers of building materials and garden
 supplies added 13,000 jobs over the month, marking the
 fourth consecutive month of sizable job gains for that
 industry, and there was continued strength among auto
 dealers and service stations, and furniture and home
 furnishings stores.
         The services industry added 99,000 jobs in June,
 slightly below the average monthly gain for the industry
 over the past year.  Employment in business services rose
 by 38,000 (mostly in help supply services) and there were
 notable gains in hotels, and in agricultural, auto
 repair, and engineering and management services.  Overall
 job growth in services was held back by an unusually
 small gain in health services and an employment decline
 in amusement and recreation.
         Elsewhere in the service-producing sector of the
 economy, June job growth totaled 21,000 in
 transportation, 12,000 in wholesale trade, and 11,000 in
 finance, insurance, and real estate.  Total government
 employment was about unchanged, as a substantial gain in
 local education offset a decline among State governments
 and continued losses at the Federal level.
         Among the goods-producing industries, construction
 added 23,000 jobs in June, continuing its recent pattern
 of strong job growth.  In the first half of this year,
 employment in construction expanded by 183,000.
 Manufacturing employment was essentially unchanged in
 June, as increases among a number of durable goods
 industries, notably fabricated metals and transportation
 equipment, were offset by losses in nondurables,
 especially food processing and apparel.  The factory
 workweek edged up to 41.8 hours and overtime held at 4.6
 hours.
         Average hourly earnings rose by 9 cents in June.
 This unusually large increase follows a rise of 1 cent in
 May (as revised) and 4 cents in April.  As I often have
 noted, changes in hourly earnings can vary widely from
 month to month, so that undue significance should not be
 attached to any one months data.  Since last summer,
 however, the over-the-year increases in average hourly
 earnings have been running ahead of those for the prior
 several years.
         Turning to the data from the household survey, the
 unemployment rate fell three-tenths of a percentage point
 to 5.3 percent in June.  Among adult women, the jobless
 rate fell from 5.0 percent to 4.6 percent following an
 increase in the prior month.  The jobless rates for most
 other major demographic groups did not change appreciably
 in June.  Prior to June, the overall unemployment rate
 had hovered between 5.4 percent and 5.8 percent for 20
 months.
         In summary, payroll employment rose in June, and the
 unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent.  Job growth has
 been stronger in the first half of 1996 than in the
 latter half of 1995.
 
         My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your
 questions.