Economists polled by Reuters expect today's report to show the US created 196,000 jobs in December, after an increase of 203,000 in November. Matt Phillips has a chart-heavy preview here. Though jobless claims have been volatile, consumer sentiment on the job market is improving, manufacturing data has been positive lately, and cities and states aren't shedding jobs as quickly as they have in recent years. Matthew Boesler notes that two of the more bullish Wall Street analysts are predicting 250,000 jobs for today's report.