What to Expect in the Week Ahead (Jobs Data, Fed Minutes, and a Fresh Start for Investors)

It will be another holiday-shortened trading week, with stock and bond markets closed on Monday in observance of New Year's Day. Once Wall Street returns, there will be a handful of notable earnings releases and December jobs data to look forward to.

The economic-data highlight of the week will be jobs Friday. The consensus estimate is for an increase of 217,500 nonfarm payrolls, following a gain of 263,000 in November.

Economists will also be watching the BLS' Job Openings on Wednesday. A looser job market is a key for the Federal Reserve. Economists will look to glean insights from the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's mid-December monetary-policy meeting, which will be released on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management will report its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for December, followed by the Services equivalent on Friday.

Markets around the globe, including in the U.S., Canada, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom, are closed in observance of New Year's Day.

The Census Bureau reports construction spending statistics for November. The consensus estimate is for total construction spending to decline 0.4%, month over month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.79 trillion. Despite the slowdown in the housing market, construction spending remains near its record peak of $1.82 trillion, hit last July.

The Federal Open Market Committee releases the minutes from its mid-December monetary-policy meeting. The FOMC raised the federal funds rates at its last seven meetings in 2022, for a total of 4.25 percentage points, the most since 1980.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Job Openings. Economists forecast 10.1 million job openings on the last business day of November, 234,000 fewer than in October.

ADP releases its National Employment Report for December. The economy is expected to add 145,000 private-sector jobs, after a 127,000 gain in November. Job growth has slowed from first-half 2022's rapid pace.

The BLS releases the jobs report for December. The consensus estimate is for an increase of 217,500 nonfarm payrolls, following a gain of 263,000 in November. The unemployment rate is seen remaining unchanged at a historically low 3.7%. Average hourly earnings are expected to increase 0.4%, month over month, after rising 0.6% in the previous month.

The ISM releases its Services PMI for December. The consensus call is for a 55.1 reading. The services sector has held up better than the manufacturing sector, as shown by the respective PMIs, as consumers reverse the pandemic stay-at-home trend of spending more on goods than on services.