Mr. MOORE. Yes, sir, I believe that is correct. Chairman PROXMIRE. Congressman Moorhead. Representative MOORHEAD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Commissioner, do you believe that initial releases of statistical series should be made through the principal statistical officer in charge? Mr. MOORE. Yes, sir, I believe that is a good practice. Representative MOORHEAD. Mr. Commissioner, was there an understanding or an unwritten rule that comments on those initial releases of statistical data by political officers should be delayed for a period of 24 hours? Mr. MOORE. I do not know of any understanding as to the exact time of delay, 24 hours or any other interval, except that it should be separate and later. Representative MOORHEAD. You mentioned the Gordon report calling for a separation of time. Mr. MOORE. Yes, sir. Representative MOORHEAD. Could you give me the exact words of the Gordon report in that respect? Mr. MOORE. I would like to read this paragraph Representative MOORHEAD. You might give us the page and recommendation. Mr. MOORE. Yes. It is the report on measuring employment and unemployment by the President's Committee to Appraise Employment and Unemployment Statistics. It was issued in September 1962. The committee was appointed by President Kennedy. And on page 213 of that report the following paragraph is Representative MOORHEAD. Is this one of the numbered recommendations? Mr. MOORE. No, I do not see any number in connection with it, Mr. Congressman. Shall I read this statement? Representative MOORHEAD. Yes, if it is brief. Mr. MOORE. I will make it as brief as it can be made. The collection, tabulation and analysis of the basic data rests in the hands of the technical experts, and it is important that it remain this way. Nevertheless, candor requires that we recognize that political significance is immediately attached to these data. Therefore it would be desirable to draw a sharp line between the release of the statistics and their accompanying explanations and analysis on the one hand, and comments on the policy implications on the other. The technical explanations and analysis are properly the function of the professional staff or the statistical agencies responsible for collecting and processing the data. The professional staff also has an obligation to offer analytical interpretive comments that will assist the users of the data to assess the significance of the changes recorded by the figures. The more general type of policy oriented comment, however, is properly the function of those officials responsible for policymaking and program administration, who must necessarily express the views of the Executive concerning the state of the economy, and the actions if any that should be taken in relation to the changes revealed by the statistical reports. I think that is the relevant section. Representative MOORHEAD. But as I read that with you, it does not call for any separation in time between the publishing of the figures by the technical experts and their explanations, is that correct? Mr. MOORE. No, it does not specifically mention a difference in time. It does refer to a sharp line. And one way of course to draw a sharp line is to make a difference in time. Representative MOORHEAD. But you could have a difference in location, in other words, the Secretary of Labor at the same time could be holding a press conference making policy explanation or, shall we say, political statements, could he not, under the Gordon report as you have read it? Mr. MOORE. My view is that that would not be making a sharp line between the release of the statistics and the comments on the policy implications. There must be a separation in time to make it at all meaningful. Representative MOORHEAD. What is your idea of the separation? Twenty-four hours, a whole day passing, a new set of newspapers? Mr. MOORE. No, I do not think I would want to specify any particular interval. Let me just call it a decent interval. Representative MOORHEAD. But so far as the explanations by the technical staff, there need be no time lag at all in your judgment, is. that correct, sir? Mr. MOORE. No, sir. They are on hand at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to provide their explanations as soon as the figures are released. Representative MOORHEAD. So it is just a question of the form that. it takes, whether it is in a press conference or a telephone call immediately by the release? Mr. MOORE. Yes, sir. Representative MOORHEAD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman PROXMIRE. I might say that Congressman Moorhead and I are going to look into this in some depth. We have not had a chance to talk about it very much. But some time after April 21 I know we are going to have to have Professor Gordon with us to testify in depth on this. And I know that will be useful to get a full and complete understanding of just what they recommended and what their feeling is on the newest departure. Senator Bentsen. Senator BENTSEN. I have no questions. Chairman PROXMIRE. Before you go into your explanation of this I would point out that by making no expert, nonpartisan comment, or explanation, to an assembled press group on the significance of those figures, you are leaving this really to the politicians, the politicians of this administration, and the politicians on the Hill. We know perfectly well that the administration is going to put their own political interpretation, as every administration does, on the meaning of the unemployment statistics, and the price statistics. You know very well that those of us in the other party here are going to do the same thing right away, we are going to get our releases out. This means that the press and the public are going to have explanations, on television and directly to the public, on what we think the figures mean. But those who are by far the most competent and the most objective are not going to get the same kind of availability to the public. That is the reason why I am so concerned about this. And the way we are trying to correct it does not satisfy me, and I do not think it would satisfy many. Because it would seem to me that the questions of a political group like the Joint Economic Committee, hard as we may try to make our questions fair and objective, would not in my view be as effective as the questions by the press. And this is another reason why this forum, it seems to me, is a less desirable forum than having a press conference. And there is one other point too. And that is that it just seems perfectly logical to me that a much smaller proportion of the press are going to have a chance to be present at least while questioning is conducted on your release and on your figures than has been in the past. Many people in the press will not get this kind of explanation that they have received in the past. All right, sir, if you would like to go ahead with your statement, I think it would be most helpful to us. I am going to ask you to read the six pages, because we can glance at it, I think that is the besetting sin we have up here, we look at the surface figures and do not get into the depth. And I think we would like you to get into that so that we will know what the figures mean. Mr. MOORE. Would it be all right with you, Senator, if I asked Mr. Goldstein to read the statement? He has been, as you know, conducting these press briefings for some time, and he is a very good reader. Chairman PROXMIRE. We want to keep him on television. Congressman Reuss suggested we put it in the record. Would the other members of the committee prefer that? Supposing you highlight it, and give us 2 or 3 minutes explaining it, and then we will ask the questions on it. I am outvoted. Representative CONABLE. May I ask, are copies of this made available to the press at this time? Chairman PROXMIRE. Oh, yes; they were distributed at 10 o'clock11 o'clock-it says 10 o'clock. Representative CONABLE. It says "transmission embargo 10 o'clock." Chairman PROXMIRE. Go ahead, Mr. Goldstein. Mr. GOLDSTEIN. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, some of the highlights of this release, are as follows: In March unemployment edged up, and employment was basically unchanged. The number of unemployed was 5,200,000 in March. That was a drop of 270,000 from February, but normally we get a larger drop seasonally. So that on a seasonally adjusted basis there was an increase in the number of unemployed. The unemployment rate seasonally adjusted was 6 percent as compared to 5.8 percent in February, and 6.2 in December. The increase was largely among teenagers, young people 20 to 24 years of age, and those who were looking for work on reentering the labor force, rather than among those who had lost jobs. There was actually a decline in the number of unemployed who had lost jobs. The number of unemployed adult men and women was essentially unchanged over the month. And the unemployment rate for white workers was up from 5.3 to 5.6 percent, whereas that for Negro and other workers remained basically unchanged over the month. The rate for white workers was back to the levels that we had in November and January. And the ratio between the unemployment rate for white and for Negro and other workers continued at the level that it has been for some months, a ratio of 1.7 for the Negro and other to 1 unemployed for the white workers. State insured unemployment was 3.9 percent of the applicable labor force, as compared to 3.7 last month. State insured unemployment had been going down since the November level of 4.6 percent, which it had attained at the time of the big auto strike. This is the first month since that time that State insured unemployment went up. There were no significant changes for full-time workers, for parttime workers, for the long-term unemployed. But the average duration of unemployment for those who had been unemployed did go up from 10.4 weeks in February, the same as in January, to 10.8 weeks in March. Employment, as I said, was basically unchanged. Total employment has been on a plateau since May 1970, and about a half a million below the all-time high reached in March of 1970. Payroll employment went up by 280,000. This is just about what we would expect seasonally, so that on a seasonally adjusted basis there was really no change in payroll employment. It would have been up a little bit more but for an increase in the number of workers on strike, who of course are off payrolls and not counted in this figure. There were about 56,000 more workers on strike in March than there were in February. Manufacturing employment was down on a seasonally adjusted basis. And nearly all of this was associated with a strike which occurred in the can industry. There were declines in the metalworking industries on a seasonally adjusted basis in addition to the industry in which can manufacturing is located. And there were some increases in nondurable goods manufacturing, primarily in the apparel industry. Construction was up on a seasonally adjusted basis by 45,000, following 2 months of decline. The service sector, the trade and service industries, government, and finance, was up only 25,000, all of this in State and local government. There was little or no growth in trade, in the service industries like hotels, in finance, the transportation, and public utilities industry, and the Federal Government. We have looked to growth in the service industries over the years to provide a fairly constant growth in employment. And this month we did not get it. Hours of work for all private rank and file workers were up a little bit, two-tenths of an hour on a seasonally adjusted basis, and back to the January level. There had been a dip in February, partly due to the holiday that occurred in the survey week and partly due to the bad weather. And now we are back to the January level. In manufacturing there was also a seasonally adjusted increase, in this case four-tenths of an hour, which brought us a little bit above the Jana letes and back to the level of last soring and summer. bus down & Code bin, about three-tenths of an here for Mamin of last year. So that hours of work are still of from their high FIAT. :De Mher item ouzins to be noted. Overtime hours in mana facturing were town two-tenths of an hour on a seasonally siyosted This is the opposite trend from the average bours of mank facturing. And this sometimes occurs. And overtime boats in me facturing were down by four-tenths of an hour over the year. That would be a summary, Mr. Charman. The item of the press release referred to above folows: tra of Lacer Statisties, 73. Department of Lace, Press Base 2-M. 7 Apr 22 Chemployment sized up in Marsh, wille employmens remained basically Department of Labor's Best of Labor Statisties renomed Soday. The oven memmens rate moved up to 6.1 persens in Kamp file ma á greine from 6 2 persent to 5.3 percent between Dreember and Forum. The Mame therese in employment secured largely among 16-24 marcite many of whom were new entrants or re-entrants to the labor time. Jocuss rates for foes other major labor force groupe were about unchanged over the north The seascoaly ajusted jobless rate for workers covered by State chempion mens insurance programs moved up to 3.9 percent in Marth after declining inim 4.8 persent in November to 3.7 persent in January and Fermary. Total employment was about shobanged in March at 78.5 millio, #Pascaly adjusted. With the exception of a temporary rise in January, Dita Kotvorment has remained on a virial plateau since May 1970 and was 500.000 beinw the altime bizh reached last March. Nonfarm payroll employment was si90 unshanged in March on a seasonally ad, usted basis. At 70.6 million, payrol employment in Marth was about the same as last September, prior to the beigning of the auto strike, but was down 680,000 from last March. Over-the-month gains in contract construction and State and local government were countered by a decline in man facturing enployment; the manufacturing drop largely reféeted a net increase in the number of workers off payrols because of strikes. The average workweek for all rankand-file workers in private nonfarm industries, as well as in manufacturing, rose over the month after a dip in February. UNEMPLOYMENT The number of unemployed persons totaled 5.2 million in March, down 270.000 from February. The decline was less than usual for this time of year, and, after seasonal adjustment, unemployment was up by 150.000, largely among teenagers and 20-24 year-olds. The March rise in unemployment occurred primarily among jobseekers who had reentered the labor force. At 1.5 million, seasonally adjusted, the number of unemployed reentrants returned to the January level, following a sharp drop in February. Unemployment stemming from job loss totaled 2.2 miɔc in March, seasonally adjusted, down 100.000 from February and at the lowest level since September 1970. The overall unemployment rate moved up from 5.8 to 6.0 percent in March, the same as in January but slightly below December's 9-year peak of 6.2 percent. Approximately half of the over-the-month increase in unemployment occurred |