The remaining portions of the BLS employment situation report are expected to be mixed. Reflecting previously discussed calendar effects associated with the timing of the establishment survey, average hourly earnings likely climbed by 0.4% in August, the largest one-month rise since January (see accompanying chart).
"Double the current median Street projection is forecasted and would push the year-to-year growth of the closely followed nominal compensation measure one tick higher to 2.2% - the upper end of the prevailing range over the past 12 months", says Societe Generale.
The return to a more typical four-week interval between survey periods, meanwhile, probably left the mean work span of all private employees six minutes shorter at 34.5 hours.
"Almost completely offset by an anticipated 245K increase in privatesector jobs, workweek forecast would place total hours worked last month 0.1% lower, but the July-August average a very solid 2.6% annualized above the spring-quarter mean", added Societe Generale.
