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Markets Eye US Hourly Earnings Cautiously
Friday's US Employment Report should hold few surprises for the nonfarm payrolls headline number, while average hourly earnings should be the main event. Rising wage inflation continues to be a concern, with the median amongst analysts in an MNI survey forecasting for a slowdown to a 0.2% gain, while markets are hedging to the high side. Analysts are forecasting a 210,000 gain for headline payrolls and 200,000 for private, while also possibly seeing a decline in the unemployment rate to 4.0%. Average weekly hours are expected to rise back to 34.4 after falling to 34.3 in January. Ahead of the release, we outline five ... (full story)