>"....Friday's release of jobs data for September was expected to
>show a steady unemployment rate and creation between about 50,000 to
>250,000 new jobs, though uncertainties such as the effects of last
>month's hurricanes kept the estimates all over the map, said
>Wachovia Corp. economist Mark Vitner...."
Historically, hurricanes have really hit employment, sometimes to the tune of six figures. The consensus is around 150k, but the "whisper number" among traders is a lot lower. We'll see.
Also due tomorrow is the pre-announcement of the benchmark revision to the March numbers, an annual exercise in which the monthly survey numbers are compared with unemployment insurance records (which cover 97%+ of the employment universe) and corrected. The Bush admin is expecting/hoping for a big upward revision of 500k or more; they're not likely to get that. 200-300k is more likely. Again, we'll see, in about 13 1/2 hrs.
Doug