The July jobs numbers are due out Friday. Here's what to expect

Job growth isn't expected to show much improvement in July, with payrolls and the unemployment rate likely holding relatively steady and economists looking through the headline numbers for further clues about labor market health.

Nonfarm payrolls are expected to post a gain of just 83,000, with the unemployment rate staying and unchanged at 4.2%. That would come off a slow June, which saw a gain of just 57,000 jobs.

Outside the headline numbers will come important indicators about the general strength in the job market — specifically, participation in the labor force, wage growth and the sectors that are driving the labor market now.

All that will paint an important picture for Federal Reserve officials, who lately have been expressing both a great deal of confidence in the labor market and worry enough about inflation to float the possibility of interest rate hikes sometime soon.