Analysts: US Jobs Report Expected to Support Waller's View on Labor Market

Economists expect the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, due Friday, to show nonfarm payrolls increased by 55,000 in August, following an unexpected decline of 55,000 in July. If so, that would be roughly in line with the average monthly gain so far this year. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.1%. Analyst Anna Wong said Waller's hawkish remarks in Jackson Hole raised the odds of a September rate hike and shifted expectations for how the market should interpret next week's data. The August jobs report remains the headline event, but the expected soft reading may carry less weight than usual. Waller described the labor market as healthy, noting that slower job growth often reflects demographic factors rather than an economic downturn.