July 2000 — 2000-07-07

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. Good morning. I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the June employment and unemployment data that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released this morning. Total payroll employment edged up by 11,000 in June, as a large decline in the number of temporary workers hired by the federal government for Census 2000 nearly offset job growth in the private sector. The number of payroll jobs in private industries rose by 206,000 in June, following a decline of 165,000 (as revised) in May. So far this year, private payrolls have increased by an average of 177,000 jobs per month, compared with 202,000 per month for all of 1999. The unemployment rate, at 4.0 percent in June, changed little over the month and has been within a 3.9- to 4.1-percent band since October 1999.