Why this US jobs report is especially key
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WHY THIS US JOBS REPORT IS ESPECIALLY KEY
Investors are bracing themselves for Friday's U.S. jobs report for the month of August, with the labor market now seen as key to whether the Federal Reserve's expected interest rate cut at its Sept. 17-18 meeting will be by 25 or 50 basis points.
"Since the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, investors and central bankers are almost entirely focused on the job market," Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina, wrote in a note.
He says among the things to watch for are labor force flows: "the inflow of individuals re-entering the labor force will increase the unemployment rate...These flows reveal underlying sentiment about the job market."
Friday's employment report is expected to show that employers added 160,000 jobs during the month, according to the median estimate of economists' polled by Reuters. The unemployment rate is anticipated to ease to 4.2%, from 4.3% the prior month.
"The August payrolls report will define the size of the Fed's widely expected September rate cut," BNP Paribas strategists wrote in a note.
"While our base case is 25 bps, the absence of a rebound in job growth and another increase in the unemployment rate would likely warrant a 50-bp move," they wrote. "We estimate payrolls will rise by 175k, rebounding from July's weak 114k print."
Jefferies strategists wrote that the upcoming employment data carries "more intrigue than usual" for investors.
"Based on our conversations with clients, there is a broadly perceived risk that weaker numbers may motivate the Fed to cut rates by more than 25 bps at the meeting on September 17-18," they wrote.
"As we have noted on several prior occasions, we think that the bar for such a move is extremely high, and unlikely to be met by the data presented in this report," they added.
They said they do not expect the August employment data to be weak. "Rather, we expect that some of the negative impacts from Hurricane Beryl and other extreme weather that dragged down the jobs numbers in July will reverse, thus boosting NFP," they wrote.
The firm sees "a 175k increase in NFP, with a 155k increase in private payrolls," as well as "a rebound in the workweek."
Caroline Valetkevitch
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