FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2000 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 1, 2000 Good morning. I am pleased to be here to offer a few comments on August labor market developments to supplement the release of our employment and unemployment statistics earlier this morning. On the whole, these first major economic indicators for August point to continued moderation in job market activity. While the unemployment rate has remained at or below 4.1 percent since last October, the pace of private-sector job growth has slowed somewhat in recent months. Total payroll employment declined by 105,000 in August, as another large decrease in the number of temporary census workers outweighed private-sector job growth. Private employment rose just 17,000 in August, but to be properly interpreted, this figure must be adjusted upward to account for 87,000 communications workers who were on strike during the survey reference period and hence not on payrolls. Were it not for the August strike effects, private payroll employment would have risen by 102,000. (The net strike effect for August is 85,000 owing to a return to payrolls of some 2,000 workers from an unrelated strike.) Some of the recent slowdown in private-sector job growth is linked to a softening in the pace of construction activity. Construction employment was unchanged in August, and, thus far this year, construction job growth has averaged just 15,000 per month, compared with 25,000 jobs per month in 1999. August job growth also was dampened by a large decline in manufacturing employment. The loss of 79,000 jobs in August exceeded the gain of 51,000 in July, when there were fewer seasonal layoffs than usual. Notably, employment fell in several construction-related industries in August, including lumber and furniture manufacturing. There also was a sizable reduction in the number of motor vehicle workers, reflecting production cutbacks due to softening sales, especially sales of heavy trucks and other large vehicles. Employment in industrial machinery and electrical equipment, both industries that have added jobs in recent months, held steady in August, although the electronic components piece of electrical equipment added 4,000 jobs. The factory workweek fell four-tenths of an hour to 41.3 hours in August, further evidence of reduced activity in the nation's factories. In the service-producing sector of the economy, the services industry added 160,000 jobs in August, well above the average gain for the recent past. Sizable employment gains occurred in business services, social services, and engineering and management services, all industries that had lost jobs in July. Wholesale trade, finance, and real estate, three industries that have shown little or no employment growth in recent months, each added about 10,000 jobs in August. Employment in retail trade fell by 35,000, reflecting a loss in eating and drinking places, but these declines followed 2 months of strong job growth. The pronounced employment dip in communications reflects the large strike in the industry. Highlighting some of the key indicators from our survey of households, the unemployment rate, 4.1 percent in August, has been virtually stationary since last fall. Jobless rates for most of the major worker groups held fairly steady over the month and remain low by historical standards. The rate for teenagers has risen over the last 2 months but, given the volatility of that measure, I am hesitant to read too much into this movement. In August, there were some 3.2 million persons employed part time even though they would have preferred full-time work, about the same number as a year ago. The number of marginally attached workers--persons who have evidenced some attachment to the job market but are not currently looking for work--was 1.1 million in August, the same as a year earlier. In summary, even after adjusting for the reduction in the number of temporary census workers and the August communications strike, job growth in a number of industries has slowed in recent months. Nonetheless, the unemployment rate remained near a 30-year low. My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your questions.