3 Things to Watch in Friday’s May Jobs Report
The May jobs report is released on Friday. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls to rise by 158,000, in line with April's increase of 160,000 positions. Michelle Meyer, deputy head of U.S. economics at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, also expects the economy to have added roughly 160,000 jobs during the month. 'The Verizon Communications (VZ) - Get Report strike is going to depress job growth by about 40,000,' she said. 'Trend job growth is 200,000 - netting off 40,000 for the strike and it's still showing an economy that's seeing an improving labor market.' Reports suggest some 35,000 Verizon workers went back to work on Wednesday, after a labor deal was reached following a six week strike. Meyer is also keeping an eye on the labor force participation rate, which was rising for months, but fell in April to 62.8 percent. 'The labor force participation rate is one of the most fascinating elements of the report,' she said. 'I think there's potential for it to increase this month - resume the trend we had previously and if that does happen, it shows there is more slack and more capacity in the labor market, which would be an encouraging sign.' On the wage front, Meyer expects average hourly earnings in May to hold steady at April's level, which was a 2.5 percent year-over-year increase, or dip slightly to 2.3 percent growth. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.
