US NFP: Expect a deceleration in the pace of job gains in Dec – Goldman Sachs

In the view of the analysts at Goldman Sachs, today’s US non-farm payrolls report is expected to see the headline figures coming in at +175k.

The NFP data will be published at 1330 GMT later on Friday.

Key Quotes:

“The GS expectation for the 'headline' is +175k.

Forecast a one-tenth fall in the unemployment rate to 4.0%.

Average hourly earnings +0.3% m/m & +2.5% y/y.

While labor market fundamentals appear solid, we expect a deceleration from the pace of job gains in October and November, which benefitted from a sharp employment rebound in hurricane-affected states.

Our forecast also reflects a modest drag from winter storms around the December survey period.”