Nonfarm Payrolls for April (change in thousands)
Friday, May 4 at 8:30 a.m. ET Actual:
Median Range Responses Apr01 Mar01 Feb01
Payrolls +25k -75k to +105k 22 -- -86k +140k
Jobless Rate 4.4% 4.3% to 4.4% 22 -- 4.3% 4.2%
Mfg Payrolls -30k -70k to -5k 8 -- -81k -97k
Avg Wkly Hrs 34.2 34.2 to 34.3 14 -- 34.3 34.2
Hrly Earnings +0.3% +0.2% to +0.4% 21 -- +0.4% +0.6%
Comments: Nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise 25,000 in April as retail and government payrolls recover from their surprising declines in March, but the manufacturing sector is still expected to be weak (-30k).
Despite the March weakness, nonfarm payrolls averaged a 114,000 monthly gain in the first quarter. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 4.4% in April. Hourly earnings are expected to post an below-trend 0.3% gain, while the workweek is forecast to be trimmed to 34.2