Economic outlook: US payrolls to show growth As fiscal cliff negotiations go down to the wire, this week's economic data releases will need to provide some positive results if financial markets are to resume the momentum that built in December. Friday's non-farm payrolls report into December hiring in the US is widely expected to show that jobs growth quickened. There was not as much impact from superstorm Sandy as forecast and payrolls increased by a larger than expected 146,000. Some analysts expect that December's data will get a boost from temporary hiring in the aftermath of the storm, and Capital Economics sees as many as 175,000 jobs created in the month. HSBC, however, expects a more modest increase of 130,000, while the consensus view puts it at 145,000. "Most businesses likely remained cautious about their hiring decisions ahead of the year-end, but on balance we expect overall payroll growth to remain close to where it has been since the autumn," says Madhur Jha at HSBC. Minutes from the December 11-12 meeting of the US Federal Reserve's open market committee are published on Thursday and will give more detail of the thinking behind the decision to start buying $45bn of Treasury securities a month and to keep the Fed funds rate near zero until unemployment falls below 6.5 per cent. The minutes are also likely to reveal the Fed's concerns about going over the fiscal cliff. Manufacturing indices from purchasing managers in the eurozone, US and UK are all out on Wednesday. The US November PMI dropped unexpectedly sharply from 51.7 in October to 49.5, which was thought to be largely because of the effects of Sandy, but managers also complained that uncertainty over the fiscal cliff negotiations had a negative impact on orders. "Any deal to avoid the tax hikes and spending cuts will be too late to boost December activity, but any rebound in production after the negative effects caused by Sandy will have come through this month," says Paul Ashworth at Capital Economics, who expects the index to rebound to 51, while the market consensus is 50.1. Any reading of 50 or above indicates expanding economic activity. "The upshot is that the ISM survey may be currently overplaying the weakness of industry," adds Mr Ashworth. In the UK, November manufacturing PMI was a little better than expectations, climbing to 49.1. But new orders remained a little weak and analysts believe this could continue in the coming months. For December, the index is expected to remain at 49.1. Eurozone PMI is the final reading for December, and is expected to confirm flash estimates of 46.3. German PMI has been softer in recent months, having supported the weight of the eurozone for so long, and is published on the same day. Although there is no consensus forecast, the index fell to 46.3 in November. The German unemployment rate, out on Thursday, is expected to have remained at 6.9 per cent. Services PMIs are published on Friday. In the US, the December ISM index is seen inching lower from 54.7 to 54.3, but activity remains well in expansion territory. The eurozone remains mired in contraction, and its services PMI is expected to hold at 47.8, while in the UK the index is forecast to stay at 50.2. There are a lot of housing data out in the UK on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, the Halifax house price index is seen climbing back to -0.6 in December, having fallen to -1.3 in November. On Thursday, mortgage approvals are forecast to have increased by 1,000 in November to 54,000.