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                            THE WHITE HOUSE
                    (Office of the Press Secretary)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                       May 5, 2000

               UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BREAKS 4 PERCENT BARRIER 
                FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER THREE DECADES 
                            
                            May 5, 2000

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Released a New Employment Report Showing that the Unemployment Rate Has Fallen to 3.9 Percent -- the Lowest In Over Three Decades. The American Economy Has Created Over 21 Million Jobs Since January 1993. In 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected President, the American economy was barely creating jobs, wages were stagnant, and the unemployment rate was 7.5 percent. President Clinton's bold, three-part economic strategy has focused on three objectives: fiscal discipline, investing in education, health care, science and technology, and opening foreign markets. This strategy has contributed to the longest economic expansion in U.S. history.

-91 Percent -- 19.7 Million of the New Jobs Have Been Created in the Private Sector. Since President Clinton and Vice President Gore took office, the private sector of the economy has added 19.7 million new jobs. That is 91 percent of the 21.6 million new jobs -- the highest percentage since Harry S. Truman was President and presiding over the post-World War II demobilization.

--Fastest and Longest Real Wage Growth in Over Three Decades. In the last 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased 3.8 percent -- faster than the rate of inflation. The United States has had five consecutive years of real wage growth -- the longest consecutive increase since the 1960s.

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