Economic outlook: Focus on US jobs data US jobs data are once more destined to define market sentiment at the end of a week that will also feature monetary policy decisions for the eurozone and by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Friday's non-farm payroll report from Washington is likely to exert an influence over sentiment for much of the week as markets continue to weigh the strength of the US recovery against the threat to global growth posed by the rekindled eurozone debt crisis. Economists expect a net addition of 170,00 to the number of jobs in the US outside the agricultural sector, after April's rise of 120,000 disappointed. Analysts said the steep declines in the number employed in the retail sector in March and April were unlikely to be repeated, although the rate of hiring in the manufacturing sector could ease. The overall unemployment rate is expected to remain above 8 per cent, with the most optimistic predictions suggesting it could slip from 8.2 per cent to 8.1 per cent. Both sets of jobs data will shape the Federal Reserve's thinking on the need for more stimulus, meaning a significantly downbeat number could lift market sentiment by making a third round of quantitative easing more likely. One of the Fed board's more dovish members, Daniel Tarullo, will be making a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Wednesday. Traders will be alert for any signs of a more determined advocacy for more stimulus as they shape their own expectations on US monetary policy ahead of the non-farm payrolls report. The Reserve Bank of Australia looks poised to cut interest rates tomorrow in response to low inflation and growth rates easing. "Inflation is low and growth is slightly below trend so we expect the RBA to cut rates by 25 basis points next week to 4 per cent," said Paul Bloxham, chief economist for Australia and New Zealand at HSBC. We [also] expect the RBA to leave the door open for further rate cuts. The European Central Bank is likely to leave eurozone monetary policy on hold at its meeting on Thursday. Mario Draghi, its president, is likely to face questions afterwards on his comments to the European Parliament last week that the eurozone is in need of a growth compact. In the UK, attention will centre on purchasing managers" index data for insight into the chances of a return to growth. Tomorrow's April manufacturing PMI is expected to remain stable month on month after March's reading of 52.1. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The April PMI reading for the dominant services sector of the UK economy, due on Thursday, is expected to fall from March's strong 55.3 to 54.1. But most attention will focus on the reading for the construction sector, due on Wednesday, after its sharp slowdown in activity in the first quarter dragged the UK back into recession. It is expected to ease back to 55.0 after coming in at 56.7 in April, a 21-month high. The numbers will influence the Bank of England's stance on monetary policy. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "If the April purchasing managers" surveys point overall to faltering activity, pressure will mount on the Bank to provide further help to the economy."