Jobs

Markets should brace for weak jobs report: Expert

Jobs figure will be 200-220K range: Pro
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Jobs figure will be 200-220K range: Pro

The markets should be ready to see a very weak jobs report on Friday, Komal Sri-Kumar said Thursday.

"It's going to be significantly worse than 295,000," the president of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," adding that he believes Friday's nonfarm payroll numbers will come in between 200,000 and 220,000, well below the estimated 248,000.

"Wages are not increasing significantly, and I believe the Fed is correct in saying there is a considerable amount of slack in the market. People are accepting jobs at lower pay, and people are accepting part-time jobs rather than full-time employment."

Sri-Kumar made his remarks after the Labor Department reported that weekly U.S. jobless claims dropped by 20,000 to 268,000, the lowest since 2000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 285,000 last week.

"Every time [the jobs report is weak], I see people saying weather is the reason and I think we should get to understand that it is always cold in January and February here and it is nothing amazing," Sri-Kumar added.

In fact, Sri-Kumar said he is so bearish on the U.S.'s economic outlook, he believes the Federal Reserve will not lift off rates until 2016 at the earliest. "I think they're cheerleading interest rates and hoping people believe that the inflation rate is headed up … at the same time, the strong dollar and the weakening global economy [low employment and low wages] are pressures we're going to see on exports during the coming months," he said.

U.S. stocks traded higher following the jobless claims report, with the Dow Jones industrial average briefly trading over 100 points above its previous close. Click here to see where the markets are trading now.

Expect fairly solid jobs number: Economist
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Expect fairly solid jobs number: Economist

Nevertheless, not every expert remains as bearish as Sri-Kumar.

"We need to remind ourselves that the recent trend has been very strong and, even if we get a slightly lower labor report, that doesn't derail our view of the U.S. labor recovery, which can still grow 2 to 2.5 percent," Steven Rees, the global head of equity strategy at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, said in another interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

Read More Employers' monthly layoff plans drop to 36K: Challenger

Rees added he expects the nonfarm payroll number to come in between 240,000 and 250,000.