Omicron. Revisions. Big seasonal factors. Friday’s U.S. jobs report is poised to be a bit of a doozy.
Nonfarm payrolls forecasts range from a 400,000 monthly decline in January to a 250,000 advance, and the confluence of crosscurrents will likely make analyzing the report more challenging than normal. So much so that White House officials have already warned the report could be confusing or even misleading.
“This is going to be a particularly tricky one,” said Nick Bunker, director of economic research at Indeed Inc. “It is reflective of a really disruptive period during this pandemic.”
