April 5, 2002 — 2002-04-05

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 that we released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in March (up 58,000) and, after revision, was essentially unchanged (down 2,000) in February. The data for March and for February provide a marked contrast to the average monthly job losses of 144,000 that prevailed from March 2001 through January 2002. Over the month, employment gains in services and local government were tempered by declines in construction and manufacturing. Factory job losses, though, have moderated in recent months, and factory hours have risen. The unemployment rate was little changed in March at 5.7 percent.