FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T.
                         FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2002

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the
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understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m.
Eastern Daylight Time.


                        Statement of
                              
                     Kathleen P. Utgoff
                        Commissioner
                 Bureau of Labor Statistics
                              
                         before the
                              
                  Joint Economic Committee
                              
                   UNITED STATES CONGRESS
                              
                   Friday, October 4, 2002



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

     I appreciate this opportunity to comment on the labor
market data we released this morning.
     
     Nonfarm payroll employment, at 130.9 million, was
essentially unchanged (down 43,000) in September, after
increasing by 107,000 in August (as revised). From April
through August, nonfarm payroll employment growth had
averaged 54,000 a month.  September job losses were
concentrated in manufacturing and transportation.
Employment in health services and in finance, insurance, and
real estate rose over the month.  The unemployment
rate, at 5.6 percent in September, was about the same as in
August.
     
     Looking in more detail at the data from our survey of
employers for September, job losses continued in
manufacturing (-35,000).  The industry lost almost 100,000
jobs in August and September combined, after losing a total
of 80,000 in the prior 4 months. In September, job losses
were concentrated in durable goods manufacturing, with the
largest declines in electrical equipment, transportation
equipment, and industrial machinery.  In nondurable goods,
an employment increase in food products more than offset a
loss in apparel.  The manufacturing workweek in September,
at 40.9 hours, was unchanged over the month, while factory
overtime edged down by one-tenth of an hour to 4.1 hours.
     
     Employment in transportation and public utilities fell
by 32,000 in September, with most of the decline occurring
in transportation.  Trucking had an unusually large
employment decline in September (-17,000).  Air
transportation lost 12,000 jobs over the month.  Employment
in the industry has shown no clear trend so far this year,
following losses totaling 132,000 in the last 4 months of
2001.
     
     Finance, insurance, and real estate added 16,000 jobs
over the month.  Most of September increase was in finance,
primarily in mortgage bankers and brokers.
     
     Employment in other major private-sector industries was
little changed in September.  For the services industry,
September had the smallest job gain (+28,000) in a string of
increases that dates back to March.  In September, job gains
in health services and engineering and management services
were partly offset by job losses in amusement and recreation
services.  The Federal government continued to add workers
in the Transportation Security Administration.
     
      Average hourly earnings of production or
nonsupervisory workers in the private sector rose by 5 cents
to $14.87 in September.  Over the year, hourly earnings
increased by 3.0 percent.
      
      Turning to data from our survey of households, both
the number of unemployed persons, at 8.1 million, and the
unemployment rate, at 5.6 percent, showed no statistically
significant change in September.  The jobless rates for all
the major worker groups——adult men, adult women, teenagers,
whites, blacks, and Hispanics——were essentially the same as
in August.
          

      In summary, payroll employment was little changed in
September.  The unemployment rate, at 5.6 percent, was about 
the same as in the prior month.
      
      My colleagues and I would be glad to answer any
questions you might have.