January 1997 — 1997-01-10

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. I would like to thank you for this opportunity to comment on the labor market data released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 262,000 in December, with the gains widespread across the major industries. Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents over the month, following a 9-cent gain in November. The unemployment rate was unchanged in December at 5.3 percent (following routine end-of-year revisions to our seasonal adjustment factors). The services industry added 112,000 jobs in December; between May and November, monthly job growth in services averaged 81,000. Health services added 16,000 jobs, and computer and data processing services, which grew by a robust 11 percent over the year, added 15,000 jobs. In amusement and recreation services, employment was up by 12,000 in December and by 87,000 for the year as a whole.