Yahoo Finance JOBS REPORT — What you need to know in markets on Friday
Friday is jobs day in America.
At 8:30 a.m. ET, the August jobs report will be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and this report is expected to show August was another strong month for the U.S. labor market.
Nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by 194,000 in August with the unemployment rate forecast to fall to 3.8%, matching the post-crisis low seen in June. Average hourly earnings are expected rise 0.2% over the prior month and 2.7% over the prior year.
“While the pace of employment growth disappointed in July, all indicators suggest hiring ramped back up towards trend in August,” said Sam Bullard, senior economist a Wells Fargo.
“Initial jobless claims continue to trend in historically low territory, private sector assessment on employment conditions remains firmly in expansionary territory, and consumers’ net assessment of the labor market stands at its highest level since March 2001.”
JP Morgan economist Daniel Silver notes, however, that August’s jobs reports have in recent years had a tendency to undershoot consensus estimates. “While the magnitude of any potential downward bias to August data can vary depending on the way it is measured, we think that it is probably modest (likely around 10-20k),” Silver said. Silver is forecasting August payrolls rose by 225,000.
Friday’s report will be the last employment report before the Federal Reserve’s next meeting — slated for September 26 — at which the central bank is slated to raise interest rates for the third time this year.
In July, the U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs, fewer than forecast, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% after hitting 4% in June. Through July, the last three months have seen average job gains of 224,000 per month.
Elsewhere on Friday, there will be no major earnings releases or other economic data published and no members of the S&P 500 will report earnings.
Investors will look to see if tech stocks can get a bounce after three-straight losing days for the Nasdaq as emerging markets remain under pressure.
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Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland
