FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T. FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1999 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, April 2, 1999 Good morning. I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the March employment and unemployment estimates that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released this morning. The unemployment rate, as measured by our household survey, fell to 4.2 percent in March. It was 4.4 percent in February and had been in the 4.3-to-4.5 percent range since last April. Nonfarm employment, as measured by our establishment survey, was little changed in March, after rising by 297,000 in February. Employment declined in construction, manufacturing, and mining during March, while most other major industry groups experienced moderate increases. Employment in the construction industry fell 47,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis in March, after increasing by an average of 54,000 jobs per month over the prior 5 months. March construction hiring fell short of seasonal expectations in part because of unseasonably cold weather in many areas of the country during the survey reference period. In addition, because of the underlying strength in the industry coupled with the unusually mild winter, many construction workers who typically would have been hired in March were already on employers’ payrolls. Manufacturing employment declined by 35,000 in March, and factory job losses have totaled 381,000 over the past year. Within manufacturing, the industrial machinery industry lost 14,000 jobs over the month; over the past year, the industry lost 89,000 jobs. Other industries that have experienced large over-the-year employment losses include apparel, which lost 83,000 jobs, and electrical equipment, which lost 69,000 jobs. The mining industry lost 7,000 jobs over the month, continuing a downward trend that has been steeper recently. Over the past year, employment in mining has dropped by 55,000, mostly in oil and gas extraction. The March job losses, however, were spread across all components of mining. Retail trade employment was little changed in March, following a large increase in the previous month. Within retail trade, employment in eating and drinking places fell by 48,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis in March, reflecting below-normal seasonal hiring. General merchandise stores gained 14,000 jobs over the month, following a small decline in February. Employment in furniture stores rose by 9,000 in March, the third straight month of large increases. The services industry gained 95,000 jobs in March. This compares with an average monthly increase of 112,000 in the previous 12 months. Robust employment growth continued in engineering and management services in March. Job gains were larger than average in health services, educational services, and amusement and recreation services. The long employment growth trend continued in computer and data processing, although the March increase was somewhat smaller than usual. Employment declined over the month in agricultural services and personal services. Employment in the finance industry increased by 11,000 in March, and insurance gained 6,000 jobs. Real estate employment declined slightly for the second straight month, after increasing by 28,000 from October to January. Wholesale trade and transportation and public utilities experienced moderate job gains in March. Government employment rose by 20,000 over the month. Local government gained 24,000 jobs, with the bulk of the increase occurring in education. State government also experienced a small employment increase, while employment at the Federal level declined by 11,000. Average hourly earnings of private production or nonsupervisory workers rose 3 cents in March to $13.09. Over the past year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.6 percent. Average weekly hours in the private sector edged down 0.1 hour over the month. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime were unchanged. Turning now to our survey of households, the unemployment rate declined to 4.2 percent in March. The rate for adult men dropped from 3.7 to 3.2 percent, while the rates for adult women and teenagers were essentially unchanged. The unemployment rate for Hispanics fell from 6.7 to 5.8 percent, and the rate for whites edged down 0.2 percentage point to 3.6 percent. The overall unemployment rate for blacks was essentially unchanged in March at 8.1 percent, although the rate for adult black men edged down. Among the major educational attainment categories, the unemployment rate for adults with less than a high school diploma fell 1.4 percentage points to 6.1 percent. The rates for the other major educational attainment categories showed little or no change over the month. The civilian employment level was essentially unchanged in March. The proportion of the population that was employed was 64.3 percent, compared with January’s record high of 64.5 percent. In summary, the civilian unemployment rate fell and employment was little changed over the month. My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your questions. 4 5