For Delivery: 9:30 A.M., E.D.T. — 2004-05-07

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 appreciate this opportunity to comment on the labor market data that we released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 288,000 in April, on the heels of an even larger job gain in March (337,000). Since August 2003, payroll employment has risen by 1.1 million. In April, job growth was widespread for the second consecutive month. Employment increased substantially in several service-providing industries, construction employment continued to expand, and there was a noteworthy job gain in durable goods manufacturing. The unemployment rate, at 5.6 percent in April, was little changed over the month. Among the goods-producing industries, construction employment continued to trend upward in April (18,000). Since March 2003, the industry has added 213,000 jobs, bringing construction employment slightly above its most recent peak in March 2001.