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US Data: Highlights of Market Survey of Economic Forecasts

Repeats Story Initially Transmitted at 21:06 GMT May 5/17:06 EST May 5
     WASHINGTON (MNI)  - The following are highlights of forecasts for upcoming
U.S. economic indicators provided by Bloomberg. The comment section presents the
key elements behind the median forecasts.
Initial Jobless Claims (millions)
 Thursday, May 7 at 8:30am (ET)                     
                                                             Actual
                   Median                              May02  Apr25  Apr18      
Claims             3.000m                                 -- 3.839m 4.427m      
     Comments: - U.S. weekly jobless claims filed through May 2 are expected to
reach 3 million after rising to 3.8 million last week in what analysts say will
be a gradual slowdown. Weekly increases in initial claims filings are likely
past the peak and shouldn't come near the 6.6 million initial claims filed after
the first wave of coronavirus-related business closures, according to analysts.
Still, both initial and continuing claims will remain at highly elevated levels
in the millions for at least several more weeks, smashing records dating back to
1967.
Preliminary Q1 Non-Farm Productivity (percent change)
 Thursday, May 7 at 8:30am (ET)                          
                                                           Actual
                   Median                             1Q(p)  4Q(f)   3Q(f) 
Productivity        -5.5%                               --   +1.2%  -0.3%  
Unit Labor Cost     +4.5%                               --   +0.9%  +0.2%  
     Comments: Final non-farm productivity is expected to drop by -5.5% in its
preliminary estimate after rising +1.2% in the fourth quarter. Unit labor cost
is expected to increase by +4.5% and would mark the seventh straight quarter of
increases.
Consumer Credit for (dollar change, billions) 
 Thursday, May 7 at 3:00pm (ET)                          
                                                           Actual
               Median                               Mar20   Feb20   Jan20       
Cons Cred     +$15.0b                                  -- +$22.3b +$12.1b      
     Comments: Consumer credit use is expected to rise by $15.0 billion in March
after increasing by $22.3 billion in February.
Nonfarm Payrolls for March (change in thousands and millions) 
 Friday, May 8 at 8:30am (ET)                                 Actual 
                 Median                                 Apr20  Mar20  Feb20     
Payrolls        -21.50m                                    --  -701k  +275k     
Private Jobs    -21.52m                                    --  -713k  +242k     
Jobless Rate      16.0%                                    --   4.4%   3.5%     
Hrly Earnings     +0.4%                                    --  +0.4%  +0.3%    
Avg Wkly Hrs       33.8                                    --   34.2   34.4    
     Comments: The labor market will show unprecedented weakness in figures due
Friday, reflecting the crippling effect of the coronavirus on U.S. employment in
April. Markets are predicting payrolls fell by -21.50 million in April following
a -701,000 decline in March that was the first decline in payrolls growth in
nearly 10 years. Nearly 27 million initial jobless claims were filed between
mid-March and mid-April, when the report was generated. The unemployment rate is
widely expected to land between 15%-20% in the Bureau of Labor Statistics
report, but experts say that still understates the true jobless rate as many
unemployed workers are not currently looking for a new job and have therefore
exited the workforce under BLS standards. That would mean the labor force
participation rate, which dipped slightly to 62.7% in the March report, should
show considerable weakness Friday.
Wholesale Trade (percent change) 
 Friday, May 8 at 10:00am (ET)                             
                                                           Actual 
               Median                                Mar20  Feb20 Jan20    
Sales           -3.0%                                   --  -0.8% +1.3% 
     Comments: U.S. wholesale trade is expected to have fallen by -3.0% m/m in
March.
--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202 371 2121; email: ryan.hauser@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: MTABLE]

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