employment situation data market mover tonight

market will probably go one way or the other depending on how the figures turnout. other than that things look rather boring on the news wires.

http://mam.econoday.com/byshoweventfull.asp?fid=437990&cust=mam&year=2009#top

Market Consensus Before Announcement

Nonfarm payroll employment fell a very steep 539,000 in April, following a 699,000 plunge in March. The good news was the contraction in jobs eased somewhat. The big question for the May employment report is whether the shrinkage in losses will continue. We saw deceleration in the pace of job cuts in February only to have it reversed in March. A second slowing in a row in payroll layoffs will be a boost to equities. On the wage front, average hourly earnings were very weak in April, rising only 0.1 percent and May's number likely will be sluggish, too. Turning to the household survey, the unemployment rate jumped 4 tenths to 8.9 percent in April. If this rate doesn't ratchet upward again in May, it will be a big surprise as it is hard to find an economist not calling for further increases in the unemployment rate for some time.

Definition
The employment situation is a set of labor market indicators. The unemployment rate measures the number of unemployed as a percentage of the labor force. Nonfarm payroll employment counts the number of paid employees working part-time or full-time in the nation's business and government establishments. The average workweek reflects the number of hours worked in the nonfarm sector. Average hourly earnings reveal the basic hourly rate for major industries as indicated in nonfarm payrolls. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor) Why Investors Care