HERE COMES THE JOBS REPORT...

REUTERS/Mike SegarJob seekers stand in line to meet with prospective employers at a career fair in New York City.

Heads up! We are minutes away from the release of the December jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, due out at 8:30 AM ET.

The median estimate of market economists polled by Bloomberg is that 197,000 workers were hired to nonfarm payrolls in December, while 200,000 were hired to private-sector payrolls - implying a small reduction in head count on government payrolls.

The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged from November's level at 7.0%.

However, 69 of the 90 economists polled by Bloomberg submitted estimates before the release of payroll-processing firm ADP's monthly National Employment Report on Wednesday, which estimated much stronger than expected December job gains in the private sector. The median estimate of the 21 economists who submitted forecasts after the ADP release is for a net change of 205,000 nonfarm payrolls in December, and the market could be looking for an even higher number, given the sell-off in Treasuries since Wednesday.

We will have the full release LIVE at 8:30 AM ET. Click here to refresh for the latest updates »