What to expect in Friday’s jobs report

Don’t be surprised if Friday’s jobs report shows that February’s employment gains were far below those reported for January.

Don’t be surprised if Friday’s jobs report shows that February’s employment gains were far below those reported for January. Economists expect that US employers added 200,000 jobs last month, according to FactSet estimates. Such a tally pales in comparison to January’s whopping 353,000 job gains. But February’s estimated monthly total would still be nothing to scoff at. In fact, it would continue a history-making stretch of labor market expansion. Additionally, January’s seemingly jaw-dropping job gains came with their fair share of caveats (namely the influence of weather, annual seasonal adjustment factors and because fewer seasonal workers were likely laid off than in previous Januarys). Friday’s jobs report could very well provide a more reliable read on what’s actually happening in the labor market than the jobs reports of recent months’ past, Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told CNN. October’s and November’s reports had some bumpiness because of striking and returning autoworkers, writers and actors. December and, especially, January likely overstated growth. “And so, February might give us a better understanding of the underlying rate of job growth,” she said.