The Economic Week Ahead: April 3-7

Once again, more important than the economic news this week might be if it is another one without bad news from the banks. In any event, it is a big week for employment indicators, which are likely to confirm that the labor market remains relatively strong. February's JOLTS report (Tue) should show that job openings remain plentiful (chart). Jobless claims remain low too. March data for payrolls from ADP (Wed) and BLS (Fri) should show gains of around 200,000 with solid increases in food services and health care, again.

The ISM's M-PMI (Mon) and NM-PMI (Wed) for March should be mixed with the former remaining below 50.0, while the latter still above 50. The average of the general business indicators based on five regional surveys suggests that the M-PMI remained weak last month(chart).