September 2, 2000

Gov George W Bush defends Republican advertisement that challenges credibility and character of Vice Pres Al Gore; says his pledge to change tone of politics will not prevent him from raising questions about Gore's truthfulness and leadership abilities; says commercial, which brings up Gore's 1996 fund-raising appearance at Buddhist temple, is way to undermine public confidence in Gore's own accusations against him; Bush photo (M)

Labor Department reports unemployment rate rose 4.1 percent in August from 4 percent in July; nation's private employers created only 17,000 jobs; total job growth fell by 105,000, after declien of 51,000 in July; average hourly wage of production workers rose 4 cents, to $13.80 an hour; over last 12 months, wage has risen only 3.8 percent; Commerce Department reports construction spending fell in July by 1.6 percent after decline of 1.3 percent in June; graph on construction spending (M)

News analysis: New York State decision to direct most qualified teachers who are hired this fall by New York City to system's worst schools is having unintended consequences; as teachers seeking jobs have been offered chance to work in failing schools or nothing, many of them have simply withdrawn, if only temporarily, from job market; city officials predict state policy will hurt marginal schools (M)

Clyde Haberman NYC column, in light of Labor Day holiday, comments on continuing tradition of union songs on woes of workers and benefits of organized labor (M)

Black funny men come in many colors, but they have one thing in common right now: they're the ones cracking America up. A report by Lynn Hirschberg in The Times Magazine.