U.S. job growth likely rebounded last month and the unemployment rate probably dropped to a near seven-year low, signs of a pick up in economic momentum that could keep the Federal Reserve on track to hike interest rates this year. The Labor Department will release its closely followed employment report at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) on Friday. “Our view is that we get a pretty clear signal that the first-quarter soft patch was just that, a temporary soft patch that will subside and we will get a bit of a bounce back,” said Bricklin Dwyer, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.