The latest monthly jobs report is this week’s main attraction as investors barrel into September.

August employment data from the Labor Department is set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday morning, and is expected to show another strong month for the U.S. labor market. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls rose by 300,000 in August, according to data from Bloomberg.

The figure is likely to serve a key role in dictating the Federal Reserve’s next rate decision at its policy-setting meeting later this month. Investors will keep a close eye on jobs data after Fed Chair Jerome Powell asserted in ahawkish speech at the Jackson Hole symposium Fridayhe is willing to accept a softening labor market in exchange for mitigating inflation.

Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve walks in Teton National Park where financial leaders from around the world gathered for the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium outside Jackson, Wyoming, U.S., August 26, 2022. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

“If there is a conflict in the Fed’s two mandates as they work to slow inflation, Chair Powell ranks price stability head and shoulders above maximum employment,” Jeff Klingelhofer, co-head of investments at Thornburg Investment Management said in a note on Friday.

Powell’sremarks sent markets tumbling, with all three major averages settling at four-week lows on Friday.

The Nasdaq plunged 3.9%, and the S&P 500 shed 3.3%, with both indexes logging their biggest one-day drops since June 13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased 1,000 points, or roughly 3% on Friday.

“There will very likely be some softening of labor market conditions,” Powell said in his speech.

“While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” Powell added. “These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”

Up until Friday, some market participants had expected the U.S. central bank may pivot in its monetary tightening plans, but Powell and other officials have pushed back on the possibility of notching down rate hikes this year.

Inflation has shown signs of moderating, but continues to run sharply higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday showed consumer prices fell slightly last month, with headline PCE falling 0.1% between June and July, driven primarily by a 4.8% decline in energy prices. On a year-over-year basis, headline PCE rose 6.3% in July.