America’s economy could catch a second wind.
The Labor Department announces job gains for February on Friday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, and economists estimate the economy added 190,000 jobs. That would be better than January’s gains of 151,000 jobs, and confirmation that the job market is picking up momentum.
Experts surveyed by CNNMoney believe unemployment will stay at 4.9%, the lowest level since 2008.
A leading indicator of the health of the job market is the number of people that are signing up for unemployment claims. The good news is that the 4-week average for unemployment claims has been declining over the past month. The decline since January suggests that employers may be firing less and hiring more.
Investors will be watching these numbers closely. The U.S. stock market has been extremely volatile amid concerns that the economy faces many challenges from the slowdown in Europe and Asia, the nation’s job market is a bright spot.
America added 2.6 million jobs last year, its second best year of gains since 1999. Unemployment below 5% is considered at or very close to “full employment.”
And wage growth has picked up. Wages didn’t grow for years after the recession but have picked up some steam since October. It’s not stellar but heading in the right direction. Economists project that wages will grow about 2.5% in February compared to a year ago.