January 2001 — 2001-01-05

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 Standard Time. Good morning. I appreciate this opportunity to comment on the labor market data we released this morning. While the unemployment rate remained low by historical standards in December, the pace of job growth in the private sector continued to slow. The jobless rate, at 4.0 percent, was unchanged from November; it has been in the narrow range of 3.9 to 4.1 percent since October 1999. Total payroll employment rose by 105,000 in December, with just over half of the growth accounted for by government. Private-sector employment edged up by 49,000, as job gains in services were partly offset by losses in manufacturing, help supply, and construction. Private-sector job growth in the fourth quarter averaged 84,000 per month, only about half of the monthly average growth in the first 9 months of the year.