WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job growth likely picked up in January, with unseasonably mild temperatures seen boosting hiring in the weather-sensitive sectors, indicating the economy will probably continue to grow moderately despite a deepening slump in business investment.
FILE PHOTO: People attend the Executive Branch Job Fair hosted by the Conservative Partnership Institute at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Toya Sarno Jordan
The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report on Friday is, however, expected to show job gains from April 2018 through March 2019 were not as robust as originally estimated. Any steep downgrade to payrolls during that period would suggest a significant slowdown in job growth this year.
“The employment report will support expectations that the economic expansion is going to continue at a moderate pace,” said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. “But benchmark revisions will show weaker momentum in the labor market, which should weigh on the markets’ expectations for payroll growth going forward.”
According to a Reuters poll of economists, the government’s survey of establishments will probably show nonfarm payrolls increased by 160,000 jobs in January, likely driven by hiring in construction and leisure and hospitality industries.
While that would be higher than the 145,000 jobs created in December, payrolls would be below the monthly average of 176,000 jobs in 2019. Employment gains are seen slowing in February as the coronavirus, which has killed hundreds in China and infected thousands globally, disrupts supply chains, especially for electronics producers such as Apple (AAPL.O).
The survey was, however, conducted before Wednesday’s ADP National Employm