Three Things to Watch in Friday's July Employment Report
Ahead of Friday’s all-important July labor report, here are three things to look out for. First, watch for job creation above 200,000. While economists expect nonfarm payrolls to rise by 212,000, there is a worrisome sign that may not happen. ADP’s jobs numbers, which track payrolls in the private sector, showed just 185,000 jobs created during July, falling short of the 215,000 analysts expected. The ADP numbers tend to foreshadow the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ numbers. But Emanuella Enenajor, senior North America economist at Bank of America (BAC) Merrill Lynch isn’t worried and expects nonfarm payrolls to rise 215,000 in July. ‘We’re likely going to see decent job growth in line with the six month average,’ she said. Possible revisions to previous months may also be revealed in Friday’s report. Next, watch the unemployment rate, which is expected to hold steady at 5.3 percent. This all factors into the Federal Reserve’s looming rate hike, which many economists, including Enenajor, expect to be announced in just six weeks during the Fed’s September meeting. Finally, Enenajor will be watching the latest numbers on wages. Average hourly earnings are expected to post a 0.2 percent increase during July, compared to no growth in June. TheStreet’s Scott Gamm reports from New York.
