This Week: Construction spending, Meta earns, jobs report

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

CONSTRUCTION BELLWETHER

The Commerce Department serves up its latest monthly tally of U.S. construction spending Tuesday.

Construction spending rose on a monthly basis for most of last year, fueled in part by builders pushing to meet a wave of demand for new homes despite supply chain constraints for lumber and other building materials. Economists project that spending rose 0.7% in December. That would follow an increase of 0.4% in November.

Construction spending, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:

July 0.1

Aug. 1.0

Sept. 1.0

Oct. 0.4

Nov. 0.4

Dec. (est.) 0.7

Source: FactSet

MIXED RESULTS?

Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms reports quarterly results Wednesday.

Wall Street expects the company’s fourth-quarter earnings declined and its revenue rose compared to the same quarter in 2020. The social media giant, which also owns popular apps Instagram and WhatsApp, posted higher earnings in the first three quarters of 2021, buoyed by strong advertising revenue.

ALL ABOUT JOBS

Economists predict hiring in the U.S. slowed in January for the third straight month.

The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that nonfarm employers added 150,000 jobs in January. That would be down from 199,000 in December. While the pace of hiring has slowed since employers added 648,000 jobs in October, the nation’s unemployment rate has declined, reaching a pandemic low of 3.9% in December.

Nonfarm payrolls, monthly change, seasonally adjusted:

Aug. 483,000

Sept. 379,000

Oct. 648,000

Nov. 249,000

Dec. 199,000

Jan. (est.) 150,000

Source: FactSet