This Week: Construction data, Nordstrom earns, jobs report

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:

SPOTLIGHT ON CONSTRUCTION

The Commerce Department issues its latest tally of U.S. construction spending Monday.

Economists project that spending increased by a modest 0.7% in January. That would follow a 1% increase in December, as strength in spending on residential projects, particularly single-family homes, offset a sustained weakness in nonresidential construction. With mortgage rates at historic lows, housing has been a star performer over the past year even as the pandemic ravages other parts of the economy.

Construction spending, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:

Aug. 2.0

Sept. -0.2

Oct. 2.5

Nov. 1.1

Dec. 1.0

Jan. (est.) 0.7

Source: FactSet

UNHAPPY HOLIDAYS

Wall Street expects another lackluster quarterly report card from Nordstrom.

The upscale department store chain has been struggling to grow its sales through the pandemic, though it managed to follow up two quarterly losses with a smaller profit in the August-October quarter. Analysts predict the company will report Tuesday that its earnings and revenue fell in the November-January quarter versus a year earlier, reflecting a sharp decline in sales during the holiday shopping season.

ALL ABOUT JOBS

Economists predict hiring in the U.S. rebounded strongly in February after a dismal showing the previous month.

They expect the Labor Department will report Friday that nonfarm employers added 200,000 jobs in February. That would follow a gain of 49,000 jobs in January. That tepid increase made scarcely any dent in the nearly 10 million jobs that remain lost since the coronavirus intensified about a year ago, underscoring the pandemic’s ongoing grip on the economy.

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