The week ahead: employment data from the US and Canada
At the start of every trading week, we comb the upcoming economic calendar for the highest-impact items in the world. Find out what’s coming up next.
Economic calendar summary
US labor market data arrives this week, starting with job openings on Tuesday and ending with Nonfarm Payrolls on Friday. Canada releases unemployment data at the same time Friday morning, 8:30 ET.
The Reserve Bank of Australia begins the week with an interest rate decision Monday night. AUD/USD is currently trading at the bottom of its 2023 range - under 0.6400.
Interest Rate Decision - Australia
Time: 11:30pm ET Monday, October 2nd
Previous: 4.1%
Expected: 4.1%
The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to hold interest rates at 4.1% for the fourth consecutive meeting. Officials stated future hikes were still a possibility at last month's meeting, but recent data has not pointed towards a consensus rate hike at this time.
Inflation Rate - Switzerland
Time: 2:30am ET Tuesday, October 3rd
Previous: 1.6%
Expected: 1.8%
One of the outperformers in European inflation, Switzerland aims to stay below 2% in this month's release. After the SNB left interest rates unchanged citing low inflation, a large move in inflation now could cause a change in future monetary tightening.
Job Openings - US
Time: 10:00am ET Tuesday, October 3rd
Previous: 8.83M
Expected: 8.8M
Coming off of the lowest reading since 2021, the JOLTs report is expected to show even fewer job openings for August. Traders will look to this release for hints about Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls.
Unemployment Rate - Canada
Time: 8:30am ET Friday, October 6th
Previous: 5.5%
Expected: 5.6%
At 5.5% the past two months, Canadian unemployment rate remains at a yearlong high. Expected to rise slightly, this softening labor market is still below pre-pandemic levels around 6%.
Nonfarm Payrolls - US
Time: 8:30am ET Friday, October 6th
Previous: 187k
Expected: 170k
Monthly employment totals arrive Friday morning and are expected to drop after last month's rebound. With another rate hike from the US this year still a possibility, a stronger-than-expected jobs report could provide support for such a hike. Conversely, a softer report could signal the effects of tight monetary policy are beginning to show.
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Trading economic events with forex requires an account with a forex provider like IG. Many traders watch major forex pairs like EUR/USD and USD/JPY for potential opportunities based on economic events such as inflation releases or interest rate decisions. Economic events can produce more volatility for forex pairs, which can mean greater potential profits and losses as risks can increase at these times.
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