The Econoday consensus estimate for Friday’s jobs report is 1,675,000. The range is a whopping 200,000 to 2,400,000,
Seasonal Adjustments
The lead chart shows the unadjusted education totals. When the BLS seasonally adjusts the numbers it looks like this.
Calculated Risk explains the charts in his post State and Local Government Education Employment will Increase Sharply in July, Seasonally Adjusted
In the current school year (red), educators were let go earlier than usual due to the pandemic, with layoffs starting in March. It appears another 350 thousand or more educators will be let go in July NSA.
Since there is a regular seasonal pattern, the BLS adjusts the hiring so the typical school year hiring and layoffs, Seasonally Adjusted (SA), is mostly flat.
However, in the 2019-2020 school year, layoffs started much earlier. Now, in July, the red line will have to come back close to zero after the seasonal adjustment. This would suggest about 850 thousand jobs added in July SA.
Auto Sector
On a smaller scale we may seem the same in the auto sector which often shuts down in July but did not do so this year.
Census Workers
2020 Census Paid Temporary Workers will also boost employment, even more so seasonally-adjusted.
Continued State Unemployment Claims
The BLS reference week for the household survey unemployment rate is the week that contains the 13th of the month.
Last month the reference week showed 19,231,000 continued claims. For July, there were 16,951,000.
That does not impact the establishment survey jobs number, but all of these things impact the “official” unemployment rate.
This is a big of a mess and on top of it all, the BLS admits survey errors.
Mish
Everyone knows the “games” that impact the unemployment rate … The labor force participation rate in the United States decreased to 61.4 percent in July from 61.5 percent in June of 2020.
Hmm… a butt curve. Looks ominous.
Congratulations!
That insight may just net you a Nobel, in the curve fitting era!
No more stimulus needed. Jobs are plentiful and people are flush with cash.
…and the chocolate ration has been increased to 20 grams! Double plus good!
Bottom line
Household survey on # of jobs
July 2019 … 157,346,000
July 2020 … 143,532,000
This is an election Year…there will never be an “agreeable” number as all of the data is manipulated to fit the narrative of whoever is the author.
Which is why the current fad among dupes, drones and progressive dregs, is to, as loudly as possible, proclaim to be “data driven.”