Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
Economists forecast that nonfarm payrolls grew by 180,000 in November, and that the unemployment was unchanged at 4.9%, according to Bloomberg.
The consensus expects another month of decent job gains that would not set off any alarm bells about the economy's health, and keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates at its meeting later this month.
Beyond job growth, attention will be paid to wages, which have risen quite slowly through the economic recovery. In October, average hourly earnings rose by 2.8% year-on-year, the fastest pace since the recession, and this is expected for a second straight month.
The labor force participation rate will be key to understanding whether a record number of job openings and some signs of wage growth are attracting discouraged workers into the labor force. The U-6 unemployment rate, a broader measure that includes people who work part-time but would rather be full-time, is still higher than the official rate.
We'll have full details of the jobs report at the bottom of the hour.