TEXT

 
 
 
                                       FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T.
                                       FRIDAY, JULY 8, 1994
 
 
 
           ___________________________________________________________
           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 time.  ____________________________________________
 
 
                                   Statement of
 
                               Katharine G. Abraham
                                   Commissioner
                            Bureau of Labor Statistics
 
                                    before the
 
                             JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
 
                              UNITED STATES CONGRESS
 
                                   July 8, 1994
 
 
 
           Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
 
                I appreciate this opportunity to offer a few comments
 
           on the Nation's current employment situation.
 
                In June, the number of payroll jobs continued to
 
           expand, rising by 379,000, and the unemployment rate, which
 
           had declined sharply in May, held steady at 6.0 percent.
 
                Most of the June increase in the payroll job count was
 
           in the services and retail trade industries, though there
 
           was also a notable increase in manufacturing.  Services
 
           employment rose by 186,000 over the month.  Much of this
 
           gain occurred in business services, including the personnel
 
           supply component, but there was also growth in health
 
           services, educational services, social services, amusement
 
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           and recreation, hotels, and motion pictures.  In retail
 
           trade, a large share of the 102,000 increase was in eating
 
           and drinking places, where seasonal hiring was greater than
 
           normal.   Some of the job growth in both services and retail
 
           trade was a result of the timing of the June survey, which
 
           led to our picking up some hiring that otherwise would not
 
           have been reported until the July survey.
 
                Employment in the nation's factories rose by 34,000 in
 
           June.  There were substantial gains in durable goods
 
           industries, including fabricated metals, industrial
 
           machinery, electronic equipment, and motor vehicles.  Losses
 
           continued, however, in aircraft and other defense-related
 
           industries.  The number of factory jobs has risen by about
 
           100,000 since last October.  Although relatively modest,
 
           these job gains contrast markedly with the declines totaling
 
           about 1-1/2 million which had taken place over the prior 4-
 
           1/2 year period.  The length of the factory workweek has
 
           fallen by 0.2 hour over the past 2 months but remains high
 
           by historical standards.
 
                Construction employment increased moderately in June,
 
           as it had in May.  The slowing in construction job growth
 
           over the past 2 months seems likely to be linked to the
 
           effect of higher interest rates.
 
                Turning to the data from the household survey, as I
 
           mentioned at the outset of my remarks, there was little
 
           change in the unemployment picture from May to June.  There
 
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           were 7.8 million unemployed persons in June, and the
 
           nation's jobless rate remained at 6.0 percent.  Jobless
 
           rates for adult men (5.3 percent) and adult women (5.4
 
           percent) were steady over the month, while the rate for
 
           teenagers (16.9 percent) was down for the second month in a
 
           row, following a sharp increase in April.  Unemployment
 
           among both black and white workers was little changed over
 
           the month, with the rate for blacks (11.2 percent)
 
           continuing to be more than double the rate for whites (5.3
 
           percent).  The rate for Hispanic workers (10.3 percent)
 
           edged back up to the level that had prevailed over the past
 
           several months.  The overall jobless rate has declined by
 
           seven-tenths of a percentage point since January, when the
 
           new household survey procedures went into effect.  As
 
           measured under the former survey procedures, the jobless
 
           rate had fallen by 1.3 percentage points between June 1992
 
           and December 1993.
 
                In contrast to the strong job growth shown by the
 
           payroll survey in June, total employment as estimated by the
 
           household survey fell by 442,000.  Although the month-to-
 
           month movements of employment as measured by the two surveys
 
           commonly differ in size and occasionally in direction, large
 
           movements in opposite directions such as those that took
 
           place this month are unusual.
 
                It should be noted, however, that it is especially
 
           difficult to interpret monthly labor force movements from
 
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           the household survey at this time of the year, primarily
 
           because millions of individuals always move into and out of
 
           employment and unemployment during the early summer, with
 
           the exact timing of these movements differing slightly from
 
           year to year.  For this reason, and because of our continued
 
           uncertainty about the precise effects of the survey redesign
 
           on the household data, we continue to emphasize the data
 
           from the payroll survey in our monthly analyses.
 
                In summary, the nation's labor market continues to show
 
           improvement.  Payroll employment grew substantially in June,
 
           and the unemployment rate was unchanged.  Since January,
 
           payroll employment has risen by 1.6 million and the
 
           unemployment rate has declined by seven-tenths of a
 
           percentage point to 6.0 percent.
 
 
                My colleagues and I now will be happy to answer any
 
           questions you may have.