Will the pace of US hiring slow?
Hiring in the US is forecast to have slowed in March following two months of strong gains that have helped make the case for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high, even in the midst of turmoil in the banking sector.
The labour department is expected to report on Friday that the US added 240,000 jobs in March, according to economists polled by Reuters, down from the 311,000 jobs added in February and less than half the 517,000 added in January. The unemployment rate is expected to be steady at 3.6 per cent, while average hourly earnings are expected to be up 0.3 per cent month on month, a tick up from the rate in February.
The data will be a crucial part of the Fed’s deliberations when it next meets, in May. Odds in the futures market are split on whether the US central bank will raise interest rates one more time, or whether the 0.25 per cent increase in March was the last in its hiking cycle.