Source: The Canadian Press

A busy slate of Canadian earnings in a shortened trading week are expected to provide the Toronto stock market with direction, while attention will also be focused on key economic data, including jobs numbers.

While the Toronto Stock Exchange will be closed Monday, the rest of the week is rife with events that could provide further insight into the economic recovery.

Investors will be tuned to U.S. jobs numbers in particular, because it’s considered the crux of further momentum of a recovery stateside.

“If hiring had picked up, as it did within months after the end of recessions prior to the ‘90s, we would have had the income growth needed to raise the savings rate, cover tax hikes and have something left over for spending. But it really hasn’t,” wrote CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld in a note.

“Instead, we seem to be following the pattern evident after U.S. recessions of the past two decades, in which it took two to three years for hiring to gain serious momentum.”

Market estimates predict U.S. non-farm payrolls to slide by about 60,000, which would keep the unemployment rate steady at 9.5%, according to CIBC World Markets. The data is slated to be released Friday.

Economists will be particularly focused on private employment for signs of growth, suggested ScotiaMcLeod Canadian equities portfolio director Gareth Watson.

“People don’t care if governments are creating jobs,” he said in an interview.

“They want new businesses to start, which is very difficult to do in this environment, and they also want current businesses to feel confident enough in the growth prospects of the economy to hire more people.”

Watson said jobs strength in the United States has hinged on census hiring in recent months, which has skewed the numbers to give an overly optimistic picture of the jobs market.

The U.S. really does “need to see those private job numbers going, because the more confidence you have, the more hiring you have, the more earnings individuals are getting and it just falls into place,” he added.

In Canada, the jobs market is nowhere near as dire, with jobs rising to levels that near the employment peak before the recession. The climb has been losing steam, though, and will likely show further signs of slowing down in July.

The Canadian labour force survey is scheduled for Friday, with average market estimates predict 15,000 new jobs will be added, which would keep the unemployment rate steady at 7.9%.

On the corporate side, several big names are expected to report earnings.

On Tuesday, cheesemaker Saputo (TSX:SAP) and beer giant Molson Coors Brewing Co. will headline results, while Thursday has telecom giant BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) and Air Canada (TSX:AC.B), the country’s largest airline.

Autoparts giant Magna International (TSX:MG.A) takes the earnings stage on Friday alongside Canadian property manager Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (TSX:BAM.A).

Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index has been inching higher, closing out July about 3.7% higher then the previous month.