WASHINGTON - Concerns are rising that the economic rebound is stalling, but a strong jobs report today would go a long way toward assuaging those fears.

Conversely, a report showing private employers failed to create many jobs in June will amplify worries that the recovery is weakening and won't be strong enough to put many of the 15 million unemployed back to work anytime soon.

"The economy is losing some momentum," said Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody's Economy.com. "We need to see private hiring really accelerate."

Analysts forecast that employers cut a net total of 110,000 jobs in June, which would be the nation's first loss of jobs in six months. But that figure includes the expected end of about 240,000 temporary census jobs.

Economists will focus more on private employers, who are forecast to have added 112,000 positions. That would be the sixth-straight month of gains and an improvement from a weak showing of 41,000 in May.

But the unemployment rate is forecast to tick up to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent. The report will be released Friday at 8:30 a.m.

A gain of 112,000 in private payrolls would signal the recovery is on track, economists said. With added jobs boosting incomes and giving consumers more money to spend, the economy would be able to keep growing even as the impact of government stimulus programs wanes.

Still, a gain of about 100,000 jobs is barely enough to keep up with population growth. The economy needs to create jobs at least at twice that pace to quickly bring down the jobless rate.

The jobs figures will come after a raft of weak reports Thursday provided the strongest evidence yet that the recovery is slowing. The negative news added to concerns that the nation could be on its way back into recession.

Most notable was a rise in the number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time. The four-week average for jobless claims now stands at its highest point since March.

On top of that, the housing market appears to be slumping again, and the Dow Jones industrials closed down for the sixth trading day in a row. Add in slower growth in China and the European debt crisis, and economists are scaling back their forecasts for the U.S.

Senate Republicans, expressing concerns about the ballooning federal deficit, this week blocked a bill that would have kept unemployment checks going to people who have been laid off for long stretches.

More than 1.3 million people have been left without federal jobless benefits after Congress adjourned without an extension.