Eco Week Ahead

US Jobs Data Will Help the Fed Gauge the Extent of Its Moderation

  • Jobs report is last before September decision by central bank
  • Bank of Canada may cut rates; Asian PMIs, German data due

The August jobs report is expected to show payrolls in the world’s largest economy increased by about 165,000.

Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg
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Upcoming readouts on the US labor market, including the monthly payrolls report, will give Federal Reserve policymakers insight into the need for further interest-rate reductions after an all-but-certain cut in a little more than two weeks.

With inflation slowing — although still running faster than the Fed’s goal — Chair Jerome Powell has telegraphed a September rate cut and said that officials “do not seek or welcome” further cooling in the labor market. Weeks earlier, government figures showed lower-than-expected July job growth and the highest unemployment rate in nearly three years.