Economists forecast that employers added 198,000 nonfarm payrolls last month, down from the blockbuster 250,000 print that was recorded in October , according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
They forecast that the unemployment rate held at 3.7%, a 49-year low, for a third straight month.
With the rate this low, several other economic indicators have shown that wages are finally rising as employers struggle to fill vacant positions. The sluggish pace of wage growth has dogged this economic recovery and remained one of the bleakest trends of an otherwise strengthening jobs market. Average hourly earnings are expected to increase 0.3% month-on-month and 3.1% year-on-year.
The jobs report could shed more light on the impact of tariffs on hiring and wages in industries like manufacturing. In the Federal Reserve's most recent beige book of anecdotes from across the US, several business owners said tariffs were raising their input costs — a trend that may slow their pace of hiring in a jobs market that's already tight.
This jobs report also comes at a tumultuous time for stocks , as Wall Street investors try to unravel whether the weakness in financial markets is signaling something more sinister about the underlying economy.
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