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(Bloomberg) — Investors and policymakers are gearing up for a busy week of US economic reports that includes arguably the two most consequential data snapshots — employment and inflation.

The January jobs report on Wednesday and the consumer price index, due Friday, are unusually close together on the calendar after the partial government shutdown delayed each by a few days. Normally, the jobs report lands on a Friday and CPI comes the following week.

The employment report will be even more substantive than usual. In addition to the monthly payrolls and unemployment numbers, each January release includes an annual revision to the jobs count. The so-called benchmark update is expected to reveal a notable markdown to payrolls growth in the year through March 2025.

As for the regular monthly figures, economists predict payrolls rose 69,000 in January. Such an outcome would be the best in four months and offer some reassurance against further softening in the labor market. The unemployment rate is seen holding at 4.4%, near a four-year high.

In the CPI data, economists will look for more evidence that inflation is on a downward trend after previous reports were complicated by last year’s record-long government shutdown. Forecasters expect an underlying metric of inflation — which excludes food and energy costs — to rise at the slowest annual pace since early 2021.

The Federal Reserve chose to hold interest rates steady in January given signs of stabilization in the labor market and inflation that’s still elevated. Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran, who both dissented in favor of another rate cut, will speak in the coming week.

What Bloomberg Economics Says:

“For payrolls, we estimate the BLS benchmark revision will lower the level for March 2025 by about 650K jobs — somewhat less pessimistic than the consensus. January’s jobs print may surprise on the low side, as the BLS’s modifies its ‘birth and death’ model to account for recent hiring weakness.”

—Anna Wong, Stuart Paul, Eliza Winger, Chris G. Collins, Alex Tanzi and Troy Durie, economists. For full analysis, click here

Government figures on Tuesday are projected to show another month of solid retail sales in December. Despite elevated anxiety about the high cost of living and the shaky job market, household spending has been resilient — a trend that many economists expect to endure in the near term as annual tax refunds roll out.

While household spending growth has been solid, the housing market remains bogged down by affordability constraints. National Association of Realtors data due on Thursday will probably show sales of previously owned homes declined in January.

For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for the US Looking north, the Bank of Canada’s summary of deliberations will offer insight into its decision to hold rates steady for a second consecutive meeting, while warning that heightened uncertainty made its next move hard to predict. Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers will speak on Thursday about how artificial intelligence is impacting the economy.

Elsewhere, Japan’s election, inflation data from China to Switzerland to Brazil, gross domestic product in the UK, and rate decisions from Russia to Peru may focus investors.

Click here for what happened in the past week, and below is our wrap of what’s coming up in the global economy.

Asia

China sets the tone early with January credit data, including new yuan loans, aggregate financing, and money supply figures.

Investors want to see whether easier policy is translating into stronger economic momentum. Inflation readings later in the week, including producer and consumer prices due Wednesday, should help clarify whether deflationary pressures are easing or becoming more entrenched.

Fresh off a national election, Japan gets a big batch of data on Monday, with cash earnings and real wage data for December expected to shed light on whether income growth is fueling prices. Balance-of-payments figures are released the same day, while machinery orders later in the week will offer an update on capital spending momentum.

In Australia, attention turns to domestic demand indicators arriving Tuesday, including household spending for December and consumer confidence readings. The figures land a week after the Reserve Bank’s hawkish pivot.

South Korea has January unemployment data on Wednesday.

In Southeast Asia, the spotlight turns to growth. Malaysia releases fourth-quarter GDP on Friday, alongside current-account figures, offering insight into domestic demand.

India publishes January inflation on Thursday, a key test for the Reserve Bank of India as it weighs the scope for easing later this year. Food prices remain a swing factor, and any upside surprise could complicate the policy outlook.

In sum, the week’s data will help determine whether Asia’s cooling inflation narrative is intact — or whether, as Australia’s experience shows, central banks risk being pushed into a more stop-start policy path as growth and prices diverge across the region.

For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for Asia Europe, Middle East, Africa

Following the Bank of England’s close vote against a rate cut — and Governor Andrew Bailey’s apparent endorsement of bets on a 50% chance of a March move — data in the coming week will reveal the strength of the economy in the fourth quarter. Most analysts predict only a slight acceleration to growth of 0.2% from the prior three months.

Officials scheduled to speak include key voters including Bailey himself on Sunday and Catherine Mann on Monday. Chief economist Huw Pill is on the diary for Friday.

In the euro zone, following the European Central Bank’s decision to keep borrowing costs unchanged, an appearance on Monday in the European Parliament by President Christine Lagarde is among several by policymakers in the coming days. Data on trade and a second reading of GDP are due on Friday.

On Thursday, European Union leaders will gather for a meeting focused on improving the bloc’s single market — for which the ECB has provided a checklist of desired measures.

Switzerland’s inflation number on Friday may draw attention, with a result of just 0.1% — at the lower end of the Swiss National Bank’s target range — predicted by economists. Some even forecast a return to zero price growth, while the central bank chief, Martin Schlegel, has acknowledged that more negative readings are possible this year.

Both Norway and Denmark will release inflation numbers on Tuesday following Norway’s GDP reading the previous day.

For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for EMEA The diary features a number of central bank decisions around Africa:

Uganda on Monday and Mauritius on Wednesday are expected to leave their rates steady at 9.75% and 4.5% respectively, as policymakers assess the inflation trajectory. Kenya on Tuesday and Zambia on Wednesday are likely to reduce borrowing costs. Kenya’s central bank is seen cutting its rate by 25 basis points to 8.75%, with inflation likely to stay within its target band in the near term. Zambia is expected to deliver a 50 basis-point cut, to 13.75%, anticipating price growth to slow. Eastern Europe will also see some decisions:

On Thursday, the National Bank of Serbia may extend its long streak of unchanged rates amid slowing inflation and early signs of a pickup in growth. The Bank of Russia will likely choose between a third consecutive modest 50 basis-point cut or a hold at 16% at its first meeting of the year on Friday, as policymakers wonder if the inflation effects of a hike in value-added tax could persist. Consumer-price data later that day may show an acceleration. Latin America

Mexico-watchers on Monday get both mid- and full-month consumer price reports as a follow-up to the central bank’s decision to pause at 7%.

Inflation picked up in early January, which to some analysts may push Banxico to the sidelines until the second quarter, when pressures related to newly enacted tariffs and excise tax hikes, along with a minimum wage increase, subside. Analysts in Citi’s latest Mexico Expectations Survey see annual prints creeping higher in January and February.

Brazil will also post its January inflation report, which is likely to show some uptick after ending 2025 within the central bank’s target range. Consumer price increases overshot the top of the target range in three of the previous four years.

Banco Central do Brasil stands poised to finally begin whittling away at its 15% key rate next month, but how fast and how far remain open questions.

Argentina’s inflation ended 2025 moving in the wrong direction, with the annual reading posting slight increases in November and December while the monthly rate rose for four straight months.

Economy Minister Luis Caputo sees January’s monthly result likely coming in near December’s 2.8%, which implies a year-on-year figure of 32.2%.

Analysts in the central bank’s most recent survey marked up their 2026 inflation forecast to 22.4% from 20.1% previously.

Peru’s central bank board meets Thursday, with the country’s economy in no need of stimulus and inflation running below the 2% midpoint of its 1% to 3% target range. A fifth straight hold at 4.25% looks nearly certain there.

For more, read Bloomberg Economics’ full Week Ahead for Latin America –With assistance from Swati Pandey, Monique Vanek, Robert Jameson, Mark Evans, Laura Dhillon Kane, Tony Halpin and Kira Zavyalova.

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