TEXT

 
 
                               FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                               FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 1995
 
 
 
   ___________________________________________________________
   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
 
                          March 10, 1995
 
 
 
 
   Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
 
        I appreciate this opportunity to provide comments on
 
   the labor market data released this morning.
 
        Payroll employment in the nation's nonfarm industries
 
   rose by 318,000 in February, with the largest gains in
 
   services, retail trade, and manufacturing.  Total
 
   employment, as measured by our survey of households, also
 
   rose markedly.  The unemployment rate returned to 5.4
 
   percent, after rising to 5.7 percent in January.
 
        The services industry accounted for 191,000 of
 
   February's payroll job gain.  Within services, employment in
 
   business services grew by 73,000; about half of this took
 
   place in the rapidly growing personnel supply services
 
 
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   industry.  The return of colder weather and the consequent
 
   pick-up in winter sports boosted employment in amusements
 
   and recreation, which had been held down by unusually mild
 
   weather conditions.  Health services continued its long-term
 
   employment growth, adding 25,000 jobs in February.
 
        Employment in retail trade increased by 73,000, with
 
   most of the gain occurring in eating and drinking places.
 
   There also were increases of about 20,000 in wholesale trade
 
   and in transportation and public utilities.  The return to
 
   more normal winter weather following an unusually mild
 
   January led to a decline of 32,000 in construction
 
   employment.
 
        Manufacturing continued to show relatively strong
 
   growth, with the addition of 27,000 jobs.  This gain,
 
   however, was smaller than the change in any of the previous
 
   4 months, each of which saw factory employment grow by more
 
   than 40,000.  February's gain occurred in the durable goods
 
   industries, notably fabricated metals, industrial machinery,
 
   electronic equipment, and transportation equipment.  The
 
   factory workweek was little changed over the month,
 
   remaining at a very high level, and factory overtime held at
 
   a record 4.9 hours.
 
        Average weekly hours of private production or
 
   nonsupervisory workers dropped 0.4 hour, reversing January's
 
   gain.  Hourly earnings were unchanged in February, following
 
   a sharp increase in January.  As I stressed last month, the
 
 
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   size of the change in this series often varies considerably
 
   from month to month.
 
        Turning to the results of our household survey, both
 
   the number of unemployed persons, at 7.2 million, and the
 
   unemployment rate, 5.4 percent, returned to their December
 
   lows after rising in January.  These movements occurred
 
   mostly among adult men.  Other indicators of labor market
 
   weakness that had worsened in January also improved in
 
   February.  These included the number of persons working part
 
   time for economic reasons, the number of unemployed job
 
   losers, and the number unemployed 5 weeks or less.  Long-
 
   term unemployment continued its slow downtrend.
 
        Total employment rose by 486,000 to reach 125.1 million
 
   in February.  As a result, the employment-population ratio--
 
   the proportion of the working-age population with jobs--rose
 
   by 0.2 percentage point to 63.2 percent.  This was nearly a
 
   full percentage point higher than a year earlier.
 
        In summary, both the payroll and the household survey
 
   registered solid employment gains in February, and
 
   unemployment returned to its December low after having risen
 
   in January.
 
 
 
        My colleagues and I would be glad to answer any
 
   questions you might have.