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OVERNIGHT MONEY: Jobs figures roll out ahead of Friday's monthly report
THURSDAY'S BIG STORY:
Another day of jobs data: A day ahead of the government's April jobs report on Friday, employment numbers aren't exactly lining up to paint the brightest picture of employment.
On Thursday, the Labor Department is set to release its weekly figures of first-time unemployment claims, which have trended upward in recent weeks after hitting four-year lows as recently as late March.
A report from ADP on Wednesday showed that private-sector hiring slowed to 119,000 jobs last month, much lower than the 201,000 estimated in March.
While the ADP report has run ahead and behind of the government's monthly report, which reflects public and private hiring, the trend seems clear — hiring is slowing as the economic recovery tries to get its footing.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement firm in Chicago, is also scheduled to release its measure of how many jobs cuts were planned by U.S. employers in April.
Right now, economists are estimating that the economy added about 162,000 jobs in April, which is faster than March's 120,000 pace but still behind the more than 200,000 jobs employers averaged through the winter.
Job growth, which accelerated ahead of the economy's expansion through the warm winter months, was expected to slow, economists have said.
Last week, the first estimate of growth in the January-March period came in at 2.2 percent, below estimates and slower than the 3 percent pace of the final three months of the year.
“While April’s increase was the 27th consecutive monthly advance, it nonetheless reflected a deceleration in the recent pace of hiring," said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers.
The service sector took on the bulk of the jobs, as it has been doing in recent months, though at a slower pace than March. Restaurants and bars were among those employers that added 123,000 jobs in April, down from 158,000 in March.
The Institute of Supply Management is scheduled to release its assessment of the service sector on Thursday. The index is a survey of a wide variety of businesses — the sector employs 90 percent of all workers, including those employed at restaurants, hotels and retailers.
WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR
China talks continue: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of States Hillary Clinton continue their high-level economic mission to China on Thursday despite a growing controversy over the U.S. handling of dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng. Statements by Chen after he was handed over by U.S. embassy officials to the Chinese on Wednesday indicate that he may have been coerced by U.S. officials into leaving the embassy.
Officials were eager to clear the path for the diplomatic talks. Already, Republicans in Congress including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are saying it is a black eye for the Obama administration on human rights.
Cornering counterfeiting: Attorney General Eric Holder will address the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition spring meeting in Washington on Thursday.
While Holder will address beefed up U.S. efforts to stop piracy, a top Obama administration goal, the Anticounterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) remains in trouble abroad. The deal, which the U.S. has signed and which does not require congressional approval, has not yet gone into effect as partner nations stall on approving it. The EU has referred the agreement to its Court of Justice to determine if individual rights are violated.
Tax Reform!: Policy big shots from both sides of the aisle will take center stage at a Brookings Institution event on tax reform on Thursday.
On the GOP side, Martin Feldstein, once President Reagan's chief economist, and former Gov. John Engler of Michigan, now the president of the Business Roundtable, are scheduled to appear.
Robert Rubin and Larry Summers, both Treasury secretaries under President Clinton, are set to join John Podesta, a White House chief of staff in that administration, at the event. (Summers, as you may recall, also served in the Obama administration.)
The five panelists will discuss an issue — tax reform — that most in Washington believe will take a while to complete, if it ever gets done. Top tax-writers continue to lay the groundwork for an overhaul, but most expect that work to bleed into the next Congress.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
— Treasury: No debt-limit hike before elections
— Report: Washington's efforts to stimulate economy might have averted recession
— Senators, retailers urge more flexible apparel rules in Asia-Pacific deal
— Dems attack GOP over Bush tax cuts
— Mortgage applications ticked up last week on increase in purchases
— Vilsack: House GOP food stamp cuts top obstacle to passage of 2012 farm bill
Catch us on Twitter: @VickoftheHill, @peteschroeder, @elwasson and @berniebecker3
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