This Week in Business: Job openings, Chewy earnings, August jobs report
NOW HIRING
The Labor Department on Tuesday issues its July job opening and labor turnover survey.
Analysts expect July job openings to hold firm in July around 9.6 million for the third month in a row. Overall, last month’s report signaled a healthy economy, with employers seeking to hire more people. The number of workers quitting is slightly above pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that many Americans continue to find more desirable jobs.
Job openings, in millions, by month:
Feb.: 10
March: 9.7
April: 10.3
May: 9.6
June: 9.6
July (est.): 9.6
Source: FactSet
CHEWY EARNINGS
Pet food delivery company Chewy reports its second-quarter financial results on Wednesday.
For the sixth quarter in a row, Wall Street is projecting that Florida-based Chewy will report a loss, this time of 5 cents per share. In each of the previous five quarters, Chewy has surprised investors and analysts by posting adjusted profits. For last year’s second quarter, Wall Street expected Chewy to post a loss of 12 cents per share, but the company instead logged a profit of 5 cents per share, the same as this year’s first quarter.
AUGUST JOBS DATA
The Labor Department gives its August report of hiring by nonfarm U.S. employers Friday.
U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs in July, fewer than expected. But the unemployment rate dipped to 3.5% in a sign that the job market remains resilient, especially considering that the Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest 11 times since March 2022. Wall Street analysts are forecasting that U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in August.
Nonfarm payrolls, monthly change, seasonally adjusted:
March: 187,000
April: 185,000
May: 281,000
June: 185,000
July: 187,000
Aug. (est.): 175,000