October 1999 — 1999-10-08

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 Daylight Time. Good morning. I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the September employment and unemployment estimates that we released this morning. The unemployment rate was unchanged in September at 4.2 percent; it has been either 4.2 or 4.3 percent each month since March. Nonfarm payroll employment, as measured by our establishment survey, was essentially unchanged in September. Employment in some areas and industries was held down by Hurricane Floyd, but employment growth was weak even in those areas and industries largely unaffected by the hurricane. In the goods-producing sector, employment in construction rose by 21,000 in September, nearly offsetting the loss in the prior month. Manufacturing employment declined by 21,000 in September.