WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employment growth probably slowed in January as messengers hired during the busy holiday shopping season were laid off, but the improving labor market trend should remain intact.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 150,000 after increasing 200,000 in December, according to a Reuters survey. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at a near three year low of 8.5 percent.
The Labor Department will release the U.S. jobs figures, which set the tone for financial markets worldwide, on Friday at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT).
A 42,000 jump in courier jobs lifted employment in December. The government pinned the gain on strong online shopping.
“The 200,000 print last month perhaps overstated the genuine health of the labor market, but that’s not to say the labor market isn’t continuing to recover,” said Tim Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Economists will scour the data for any signs the improving trend has been broken, given an expected slowdown in economic growth that
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