1584 / 5000
Translation results
For the first time in seven months, the U.S. economy is expected to add less than 100,000 jobs in December as a result of the continued increase in coronavirus cases recorded in the country.
This is not surprising if it happens again as many states like California are once again implementing sanctions to curb the spread of coronavirus.
In fact, investors have previously been shown a report on employment in the private sector by ADP which showed a reduction of 123,000 jobs last month.
This reading is clearly far from the market forecast which proves private employment will increase by 88,000 in December.
In addition to ADPs, the employment component in the ISM survey results manufacturing sector also fell below 50, a sign that more companies are reducing their recruitment. Meanwhile, unemployment claims data published on Thursday showed an average increase of 833,000 in December.
The question now is, will the market ignore the NFP report if the published figures are weak?
In December, the NFP is projected to increase employment by about 71,000, while the unemployment rate is likely to increase slightly to 6.8%.
Despite weak expectations in the NFP report, the economy is no longer threatened by recession as additional pandemic stimulus was approved in late December and more fiscal assistance is expected with President Joe Biden's victory.
