FOR DELIVERY: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 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 Standard Time. Statement of Katharine G. Abraham Commissioner Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday, December 4, 1998 Good morning. I am pleased to have this opportunity to comment on the employment and unemployment data that were released this morning. Employment rose in November and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.4 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 267,000, reflecting above-average gains in services, construction, and retail trade. Manufacturing, however, experienced another large employment decline. The number of factory jobs fell by 47,000 in November following a decline of 61,000 in October. Since its peak in March, manufacturing employment has fallen by 245,000. Factory job losses in November were widespread. The largest were in industrial machinery (-15,000), which had its fifth consecutive job loss, and apparel and other textiles (-10,000), which has lost jobs almost every month since November 1994. Electronic equipment had its eighth consecutive job loss (-8,000). Other large job declines occurred in primary metals and transportation equipment (-7,000 each) and fabricated metals, instruments, and textiles (-5,000 each). In contrast to all of these losses, employment in food processing rose by 9,000 following a decline the previous month; lumber and wood, rubber and plastics, and stone, clay and glass advanced by 3,000 each. Construction employment increased by 47,000 in November (on a seasonally adjusted basis), following a gain of 32,000 in October. Over the last year, job gains in construction have totaled 310,000. Services added 150,000 jobs in November, the largest gain since May. A sizable increase in business services employment (55,000) was led by personnel supply and computer and data processing services. A related industry, engineering and management services, continued to add workers (30,000). Educational services, social services, and amusement and recreation services also extended their growth trends. Health services added 14,000 jobs, about average for this year but just about two-thirds of the average for 1997. Retail trade employment rose by 65,000. Strong holiday hiring occurred in general merchandise stores, and eating and drinking places added 30,000 workers. In contrast, the seasonal buildup in apparel and accessory stores and miscellaneous retail establishments was smaller than usual, resulting in seasonally adjusted job declines in November. Employment in finance, insurance, and real estate rose by 23,000, partially reflecting continued strength in that industry’s finance component, especially mortgage brokers. Insurance also continued its growth pattern, adding 6,000 jobs in November. Real estate employment, which has shown no clear trend since July, rose by 7,000 in November. Transportation and public utilities employment increased by 7,000, reflecting gains in water transportation, transportation services, and public utilities. In contrast, employment in air transportation edged down, while employment in trucking was unchanged. Communications employment also was flat. Government employment rose by 18,000, due mostly to a large gain in local education. At the Federal level, 6,000 jobs were lost in November. Average hourly earnings for production or nonsupervisory workers rose by 3 cents for the second month in a row. Over the 12 months ending in November, hourly earnings increased 46 cents, or 3.7 percent. The average workweek, 34.6 hours, was unchanged in November. Manufacturing hours fell by 0.1 hour, to 41.6, while factory overtime was unchanged at 4.5 hours. Turning to data from the household survey, the number of employed people rose by 477,000 in November to a level of 132.2 million. The employment-population ratio, at 64.1 percent, remains near its all–time high level. The number of unemployed persons declined slightly in November, to 6.1 million, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.4 percent. Over the past year, the unemployment rate has fluctuated in the range from 4.3 to 4.7 percent. The unemployment rate for adult white men fell in November; the rates for other major worker groups showed little movement. The number of people unemployed for less than 5 weeks fell by 389,000 to 2.5 million. In summary, services, construction, and retail trade all experienced strong job gains in November, while manufacturing employment continued to fall. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.4 percent. My colleagues and I now would be glad to respond to your questions. 4 4