NFP – What’s The “Whisper” Number?

Great weather and the seasonal adjustments should boost what could already be a decent number. There have been some indications that hiring has slowed down from January, but with this being a February number it might not reflect that. The market really feels like it has bet on a big number, so it may take a really big “beat” to drive stocks higher.

If anything could disappoint, it would be the unemployment rate. That seems most exposed to an increase in number of people saying they are looking for jobs – in spite of no longer being eligible for unemployment benefits and thus not having a vested interest in saying that they are “in” the labor force.

Definitely the key piece of economic data and something to do while watching to see how the market reacts to the Greek default over the next few days and weeks.