This Week: Consumer confidence, Macy’s earns, June hiring

The Conference Board issues its June snapshot of U.S. consumer confidence Tuesday

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

REGAINING CONFIDENCE?

The Conference Board issues its June snapshot of U.S. consumer confidence Tuesday.

The index, which reflects consumers’ assessments of present conditions and their expectations about the future, inched up in May but remained near a six-year low in the face of the widespread business shutdowns that have knocked the economy into recession. Economists project that the index edged higher again in June.

Consumer confidence, by month:

Jan. 130.4

Feb. 132.6

March 118.8

April 85.7

May 86.6

June (est.) 90.0

Source: FactSet

IN THE RED

Wall Street expects that the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak pushed Macy’s into the red in it most recent quarter.

Analysts predict the department store chain will report Wednesday that it booked a loss for the February-April quarter. Macy’s is also expected to report a sharp drop in revenue. Like many other retailers, Macy’s was forced to close its physical stores to curb the spread of the outbreak, wiping out sales.

EYE ON HIRING

Economists predict hiring in the U.S. surged in June for the second month in a row.

They expect the Labor Department will report Thursday that nonfarm employers added 2.9 million jobs in June. That would follow a surprise 2.5 million job gain in May that trimmed the unemployment rate to 13.3% from 14.7%. The May job gains suggest that businesses are quickly recalling workers as states reopen their economies.

Nonfarm payrolls, monthly change, seasonally adjusted:

Jan. 214,000

Feb. 251,000

March -1,373,000

April -20,687,000

May 2,509,000

June (est.) 2,900,000

Source: FactSet