FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T.
                            FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 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

Friday, January 9, 1998





Good morning.  I am pleased to have this opportunity 
to comment on the employment and unemployment data that we 
released this morning.
The unemployment rate, at 4.7 percent, was about 
unchanged from November, and the number of nonfarm payroll 
jobs increased by 370,000.  Employment gains were spread 
across most major industries.  Average hourly earnings were 
about unchanged following four consecutive monthly 
increases totalling 23 cents.
For all of 1997, payroll employment expanded by 3.2 
million, compared with 2.5 million in 1996, and average 
hourly earnings grew by 3.7 percent.  The unemployment rate 
declined by 0.6 percentage point over the year to 4.7 
percent.  
Looking at December data from our nonfarm payroll 
survey, the construction industry showed strength for the 
second month in a row, adding 50,000 jobs.  Job growth was 
widespread across the industry; heavy construction had its 
first increase since August.  Employment in construction 
rose by 209,000 over the year, compared with 289,000 in 
1996. 
A strong gain of 39,000 factory jobs followed gains of 
similar magnitude in both October and November.  The total 
fourth-quarter increase was 125,000.  Over the year, 
manufacturing employment grew by 230,000, after having 
declined by 55,000 in 1996.  Within manufacturing, lumber 
and wood products added the most jobs (7,000) over the 
month.  December gains also occurred in several industries 
that had grown throughout 1997--fabricated metals, 
industrial machinery and equipment, electronic components, 
and aircraft and parts.  Employment in auto manufacturing 
declined by 9,000 over the month, partially offsetting a 
gain of 18,000 in November.
In the service-producing sector, the services industry 
added 181,000 jobs, the largest monthly increase of the 
year.  Services employment grew by a total of 1.4 million 
during 1997, compared with 1.2 million in 1996.   Help 
supply services and employment agencies each contributed to 
the large gain in personnel supply (45,000) over the month.  
Computer services added 17,000 jobs in December.  This 
industry, which comprises only about 1 percent of nonfarm 
payroll employment, added 162,000 jobs during 1997, about 5 
percent of the increase in total payroll employment.   
Employment in the engineering and management services 
industry also continued to expand rapidly, with payrolls 
increasing by 26,000 in December.  Health services showed a 
notable increase as well, with about half of the 26,000 job 
gain occurring in hospitals. 
December gains also were above average in legal 
services (5,000), social services (15,000), motion pictures 
(12,000), and membership organizations (10,000).  While 
most services industries had sizable employment gains over 
the year, a few did not; growth was sluggish in 1997 in 
hotels and other lodging places, services to buildings, 
nursing and personal care facilities, home health care, and 
membership organizations, and employment was about 
unchanged in personal services.
Retail trade added 52,000 jobs in December, following 
an unusually large increase in November (115,000).  Eating 
and drinking places and miscellaneous retail establishments 
(which include drug stores, book stores, florists, and 
catalog retailers, among others) contributed most of the 
December increase. Employment in department stores declined 
by 11,000 after seasonal adjustment, as more holiday-
related hiring than is typical already had occurred in 
November.  The over-the-year gain in retail trade 
employment totaled 513,000, compared with 572,000 in 1996.  
Wholesale trade employment grew by 13,000 in December, 
about equal to the average monthly gain in 1997.
The finance industry continued to expand, as payrolls 
grew by 13,000 in December.  Commercial banks and security 
brokerages both added workers, while the job count in 
mortgage banking was unchanged for the second month in a 
row.  The insurance industry showed an unusually large gain 
of 12,000 jobs in December. 
Air transportation employment declined by 21,000 in 
December, after seasonal adjustment; over-the-year 
employment gains in the industry totalled 67,000.  Job 
growth continued to be strong in the communications 
industry.
Government employment edged up by 22,000 in December, 
due mostly to a gain in the non-education component of 
local government.  Over the year, federal government 
employment declined by 39,000, while state and local 
governments added 57,000 and 252,000 jobs, respectively.
Average weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory 
workers declined by 0.2 hour to 34.6 hours in December, 
offsetting most of the 0.3 hour gain in November.  Average 
hours in manufacturing, however, increased by 0.2 hour to 
42.3 hours, a post-World War II high.  Manufacturing 
overtime was unchanged at 4.9 hours per week.
Average hourly earnings of production or 
nonsupervisory workers in the private sector grew by 1 
cent, to $12.48, following 4 months of relatively large 
increases. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 
3.7 percent.
Turning now to our survey of households, the 
unemployment rate was about unchanged at 4.7 percent in 
December.  The unemployment rate for adult men edged up 
two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.1 percent after 
declining by the same amount in November.  Rates for the 
other worker groups showed no significant change.  Civilian 
employment was also about unchanged over the month, but was 
up by 2.6 million over the year.  The employment-to-
population ratio, 64.1 percent at year's end, was at an 
all-time high.  
Before concluding, I would like to note that this is 
the month in which we update our seasonal adjustment 
factors and make revisions to previously published 
seasonally adjusted household survey estimates going back 
to January 1994.  All of the seasonally adjusted household 
data in today's news release reflect these revisions. 
In summary, nonfarm payroll employment continued to 
expand in December, and unemployment was about unchanged.  
Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory 
workers increased only slightly. 
	
My colleagues and I now would be glad to respond to 
your questions. 
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