Economists expect the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report, to be released on Friday, will show an increase of 55,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August, following a surprise decline in July. If so, this result would roughly align with the average monthly increase so far this year. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.1%. Analyst Anna Wong noted that Waller’s hawkish speech at Jackson Hole has raised the likelihood of a rate hike in September and changed market exp

Economists expect that the monthly employment report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday will show an increase of 55,000 in non-farm payrolls for August, following an unexpected decline in July. If so, this result will be broadly in line with the average monthly growth so far this year. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.1%. Analyst Anna Wong noted that Waller's hawkish speech in Jackson Hole increased the likelihood of a rate hike in September and changed market expectations for how next week's data should be interpreted. The August non-farm payroll report remains the headline data, but the anticipated weak performance may not have as decisive an impact as usual. Waller described the labor market as in good health and pointed out that slowing job growth is often due to demographic factors rather than an economic recession.