For Delivery: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T. — 2003-09-05

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. I am pleased to have this opportunity to comment on the employment and unemployment data we released this morning. The unemployment rate, at 6.1 percent, was essentially unchanged in August. Nonfarm employment declined by 93,000 over the month. Manufacturers again made substantial job cuts, and employment in several other industries continued to trend down. On the positive side, employment continued to trend up in health care and construction. Manufacturing employment fell by 44,000 in August. Job losses continued to be pervasive, with some of the more notable over-the-month declines occurring in textiles and apparel, wood products, and electrical equipment. In the past 3 years, some 2.7 million manufacturing jobs have been lost, including a decline of 431,000 this year. In August, the factory workweek was unchanged at 40.1 hours.