April 1998 — 1998-04-03

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 employment and unemployment data that we released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment and the unemployment rate were essentially unchanged in March. A slight decline of 36,000 in payroll employment came on the heels of a 5-month period of unusually strong growth. From October through February, an average of 345,000 jobs were added per month, a pace unmatched since 1994. The unemployment rate, at 4.7 percent in March, has been at or below 5.0 percent since last April. Average hourly earnings increased by 4 cents in March and were 4.0 percent higher than a year earlier.