August 2000 — 2000-08-04

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. Statement of Katharine G. Abraham Commissioner Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday, August 4, 2000 Good morning. I am pleased to have this opportunity to comment on the employment and unemployment estimates that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released this morning. The unemployment rate was unchanged in July at 4.0 percent. Total payroll employment declined by 108,000, as a large decrease in the number of temporary workers employed by the federal government for Census 2000 more than offset job growth in the private sector. The number of payroll jobs in private industries increased by 138,000 in July, somewhat below the average monthly pace of job growth in the first half of this year (182,000). In the goods-producing sector of the economy, the number of construction jobs edged up by 6,000 in July.