November 1997 — 1997-11-07

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 Standard Time. Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Committee: Good morning. I would like to thank you for this opportunity to comment on the employment and unemployment data that were released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment grew in October, while unemployment fell. The number of jobs as measured by our establishment survey rose by 284,000 over the month, and the unemployment rate fell from 4.9 to 4.7 percent. Since the end of 1996, payroll job growth has averaged 239,000 a month, and the unemployment rate has fallen six-tenths of a percentage point. Also in October, average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers rose by 6 cents. Employment growth was widespread, with the goods- producing sector accounting for much of the increase.