Will an ugly jobs report deter the Fed from aggressive rate rises?

Hiring in the US is expected to have slowed in January, with some economists cautioning that the economy shed jobs as the fallout from the Omicron coronavirus wave became more widespread.

The US economy is projected to have added 175,000 jobs at the start of the year, compared with 199,000 in December, the labour department is expected to say on Friday. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 3.9 per cent, according to Bloomberg estimates. Average hourly earnings are expected to rise 5.2 per cent from a year ago, compared with 4.7 per cent in December.

However, economists are continuing to revise their estimates and some caution that there is a risk payrolls contracted in January as the highly transmissible Omicron variant hit leisure and hospitality, healthcare and other service-related industries.