Market watchers will be eyeing this week’s economic calendar with keen interest, as a slew of critical indicators may finally clarify the state of the American economy. Chief among them will be Wednesday’s report on productivity and Friday’s employment numbers. These figures could help alleviate concerns about inflation, which has surpassed slow growth as economists’ most pressing worry.

Inflation fears surged last week as oil reached an all-time high of $135 a barrel, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index plummeted a record 14%, and manufacturing giant Dow Chemical Co. announced it would raise prices by as much as 20%. Consumer sentiment is bleak, with the latest Reuters/University of Michigan survey reporting that consumers expect prices to increase 5.2% over the next 12 months, the highest level for an expected rise since 1982.

There may be hope, however, in the form of strong productivity and weak employment figures, economists said.

On Wednesday, the Department of Labor will report on productivity — a measurement of how efficient labor is in producing goods and services. If productivity growth is strong, it will mean businesses are likely to be able to absorb the higher prices of things such as energy and equipment, rather than passing on the costs to consumers in the form of higher prices and thereby creating inflation. Generally, a productivity number of more than 2% is considered fairly strong, and the consensus, according to Bloomberg, is that productivity grew by 2.5% in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter productivity grew by 1.9%.

Wall Street will be paying even closer attention to Friday’s employment numbers, with Bloomberg showing a consensus of 60,000 jobs lost in May, the fifth consecutive month of net losses. The unemployment rate is expected to be 5.1%.

“In order for employment to grow, demand has to grow, and demand for business services is 1% a year, if that,” a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Peter Morici, a former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission, said. “If productivity is 2% or greater, then employment has to go down.”

Although it is not good news for economic growth when job losses mount, it does have upside for inflation. This is because businesses spend much of their money on employees’ salaries, and when job losses grow, they alleviate pressure on wages, a boon for struggling companies.

“Over the last several weeks there has been a growing concern about inflation, and if productivity is relatively strong this week, and the employment numbers are down, it will be good news,” Mr. Morici said. He expects inflation will be 3.9% in the second quarter compared with the year-earlier period, and around 4.2% in the third quarter.

The jobs numbers, apart from clarifying inflation levels, will also shed light on the ongoing debate over whether the economy is in a recession. “The labor market numbers will be the most important indicator of the week,” the lead analyst for the research firm RGE Monitor, Christian Menegatti, said. “I expect it to show negative growth — a clear sign that the economy, in my opinion, is already in a recession.”

Traditionally, the definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, but in the first quarter the American economy grew at a rate of 0.9%, which, while anemic, is positive. An alternative view of a recession, however, is to look at employment figures, Mr. Menegatti said. “Two negative quarters is only one criteria — five months of negative growth in labor is just as much of an important indicator,” he said.

Several other important indicators will be published this week, including construction spending, which is expected to slip, and the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing and service sector reports. The manufacturing numbers are expected to show a contraction, in part because of weakness in the auto sector, while the services sector is expected to show a slight expansion. Other data include factory orders, which are expected to shrink slightly, and the week’s jobless claims, which will be around 374,000, according to Bloomberg.