January 1998 — 1998-01-09

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, at 4.7 percent, was about unchanged from November, and the number of nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 370,000. Employment gains were spread across most major industries. Average hourly earnings were about unchanged following four consecutive monthly increases totalling 23 cents. For all of 1997, payroll employment expanded by 3.2 million, compared with 2.5 million in 1996, and average hourly earnings grew by 3.7 percent. The unemployment rate declined by 0.6 percentage point over the year to 4.7 percent. Looking at December data from our nonfarm payroll survey, the construction industry showed strength for the second month in a row, adding 50,000 jobs.