FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T.
                            FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 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 Daylight Time.

Statement of

Katharine G. Abraham
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, September 4, 1998




Good morning.  I am pleased to have this opportunity to 
comment on the employment and unemployment data for August 
that were released this morning.
	For the third month in a row, the unemployment rate 
stood at 4.5 percent.  Nonfarm payroll employment increased 
by 365,000 in August, following a July gain of just 68,000.  
The August rebound reflects the return to payrolls of 
workers affected during July by auto-related strikes and 
plant shutdowns.  Taking July and August together, gains in 
total nonfarm employment averaged about 217,000 per month, 
compared with the average monthly gain of 244,000 for the 
first 6 months of 1998.
	Manufacturing payrolls rose by 95,000 in August, 
recouping just under half of the July decline.  On net, 
manufacturing employment has fallen 105,000 since June and 
152,000 since April.  Workers off payrolls during July due 
to auto-related shutdowns appear to have been back at work 
in August.  Motor vehicles and parts employment was up 
117,000 over the month.  Returns to work also boosted 
employment in automotive stamping (within fabricated 
metals), primary metals, rubber and plastics, and auto 
trimmings (within the apparel industry).  In contrast, 
several manufacturing industries experienced substantial job 
losses between June and August.  These include industrial 
machinery, electronic and other electrical equipment, 
instruments, food processing, textile mills, and apparel.
	Employment in the construction industry continued to 
expand, rising by 16,000.  Since last October, this industry 
has added 261,000 jobs.
	Services payrolls increased by 135,000 jobs in August, 
following a much smaller rise in July.  The gain was led by 
a rise of 42,000 jobs in help supply services, which offset 
this industry’s July decline of 37,000 jobs.  Employment in 
health services grew by 24,000, as doctors’ offices added 
8,000 workers and hospitals 5,000 workers.  Social services 
experienced its fourth straight month of higher-than-average 
gains, adding 15,000 workers.	
Elsewhere in the service-producing sector, job gains 
occurred in local government, transportation, finance and  
wholesale trade.  Local government added 55,000 workers, 
largely in education.  Transportation payrolls grew by 
23,000, with trucking accounting for 12,000 of these 
additional jobs.
Finance accounted for nearly all of the 13,000-job 
increase in the finance, insurance, and real estate 
industry, with gains continuing in mortgage and security 
brokerages. Employment in real estate did not grow for just 
the second time this year, and employment in insurance grew 
only modestly. 
After a very large gain in July, employment in eating 
and drinking places declined slightly in August.  In 
contrast, elsewhere in retail trade, food stores added 7,000 
workers, and furniture stores added 8,000 workers.  The 
durable goods distribution component of wholesale trade 
added 11,000 jobs.
Average hourly earnings for production or 
nonsupervisory workers rose by 7 cents in August.  This 
follows 3 months of 3-cents-an-hour increases.  The rate of 
growth in hourly earnings over the past 12 months remained 
at 4.2 percent.  
Turning to data from the household survey, since June, 
the number of unemployed persons has remained essentially 
unchanged at 6.2 million, and the jobless rate has held at 
4.5 percent.  Among the major demographic groups, which 
include adult men, adult women, teenagers, whites, blacks 
and Hispanics, unemployment rates were little changed in 
August.
To summarize, employment grew sharply in August, partly 
because workers affected by strikes and related plant 
closings returned to their jobs.  The unemployment rate was 
4.5 percent for the third consecutive month.

My colleagues and I would be glad to answer your 
questions.




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