With the U.S. Labor Department set to release its monthly jobs report on Friday, Wall Street will be watching the numbers closely to gauge the economy’s momentum and see whether the stock market can finish the year strong, despite ongoing headwinds from tariffs and slowing global economic growth.
“One of the key data points that will determine whether we get a recession sometime next year is whether job growth continues,” says Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. “If we get something like the expected gains, that would be very positive for the economy and the markets through the rest of the year.”
“While the official consensus is around 180,000 jobs added, we’ll likely see tempered expectations going into tomorrow’s numbers,” predicts Mark Freeman, chief investment officer at Socorro Asset Management. “If we get a drastic number—like below 100,000 jobs, that might prompt a larger market reaction,” Freeman says, pointing out that consumer spending and holiday sales numbers remain positive, which should reassure Wall Street investors.
Factor in the returning GM workers and the jobs numbers don’t look “nearly as good,” McMillan points out. “That slowdown seems to be the real story, even if we match expectations.”The U.S. economy added a much better than expected 128,000 jobs in October, with the unemployment rate at 3.6%—near a 50-year low. But some of the recent jobs data has been confusing, CNBC