For Delivery: 9:30 A.M., E.S.T. — 2004-03-05

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. I appreciate this opportunity to comment on the labor market data that we released this morning. Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in February (+21,000), as the number of jobs held steady in most major industries. Since August 2003, total payroll employment has risen by 364,000. The unemployment rate was 5.6 percent, unchanged over the month but down from its recent peak in June 2003. Turning first to our payroll survey data, construction employment declined in February (-24,000) following an increase (+34,000) in January. Taking a longer view, employment in construction has trended upward since March of last year; over the period, 123,000 jobs have been added. Employment in manufacturing basically was unchanged in February (-3,000).