January 1999 — 1999-01-08

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 am pleased to have this opportunity to comment on the employment and unemployment data that we released this morning. The unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in December, about unchanged from November. The rate fell early in 1998 to 4.3 percent and has remained between 4.3 and 4.5 percent since April. Employment growth was robust in December, with the number of nonfarm payroll jobs increasing by 378,000 to 127.2 million. Gains were widespread in the service- producing sector, and construction employment rose sharply. Over the past year, payroll employment expanded by 2.9 million, or 2.3 percent. That compared to 3.4 million, or 2.8 percent, in 1997. Looking at the December data from our employer survey, construction employment advanced by 104,000.