The US economy is expected to show signs of further strengthening in next week’s jobs report, due to be released on Friday. The report is expected to show solid labor demand after an encouraging first six months of the year.
Markets are betting that Friday’s report will show that 200,000 payrolls were added in July, with unemployment holding steady at a historic low of 3.6%. Hourly pay rates are also expected to have cooled, indicating a slowdown in inflation.
On the back of a consistent inflow of positive economic data, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell claimed that economists at the central bank are no longer convinced that a recession is likely to hit the United States in 2023.
Conditions in the US are contrary to those in Europe, where European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde commented that the economic situation in the eurozone has “deteriorated.” China’s economic outlook also appears bleak amid the country’s sluggish post-pandemic recovery.
A steady labor market has been the key cause of the Fed’s decision to uphold its interest rate hiking agenda. Because the government’s job opening data for June on Tuesday is expected to show a fifth straight monthly decline, markets are raising bets that the Fed’s aggressive rate hiking campaign is nearing its end.