Today, the BLS will release the Non-Farm Payrolls report for April.

The current consensus is that there will be a gain of 160K jobs, which is up from the 120K created in March.

Private payrolls are expected to come in at 165K, implying another 5K reduction in public sector workers.

The stakes are pretty big. At just 160K, this is already in the low-end of what Bernanke considers acceptable levels of job creation.

Thus a bad number has big implications for the question of whether there will be QE3. The current thinking is that QE3 is unlikely, but... it's certainly not totally off the table if things get bad.

In terms of the big picture, things were looking much better for the economy in January and February. The data in March and April has been softer, as claims have ticked higher, and regional Fed surveys have showed flagging growth (though still growth).

Some other numbers to watch, via Bloomberg: