This Week: Job openings, consumer prices, Disney earns

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

JOB MARKET BELLWHETHER

The Labor Department issues its latest monthly tally of job openings Tuesday.

The number of open jobs at the end of November slipped 1.6% to 6.5 million, its first drop since August. At the same time, layoffs soared 17.6% to 1.9 million, driven mostly by layoffs at restaurants, bars and hotels, which more than doubled. Economists expect that the number of open jobs edged higher in December to 6.6 million.

Job openings, in millions, by month:

July 6.7

Aug. 6.4

Sept. 6.5

Oct. 6.6

Nov. 6.5

Dec. (est.) 6.6

Source: FactSet

INFLATION BAROMETER

A measure of inflation at the consumer level is expected to have risen again last month.

The consumer price index rose 1.4% in December from a year earlier, well below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Economists project that January’s consumer price index will show a 1.5% increase. Even so, analysts believe inflation will remain subdued with the U.S. economy still unable to break out of its pandemic-induced downturn. The Labor Department delivers its January index of U.S. consumer prices Wednesday.

Consumer price index, annual percent change, not seasonally adjusted:

Aug. 1.3

Sept. 1.4

Oct. 1.2

Nov. 1.2

Dec. 1.4

Jan. (est.) 1.5

Source: FactSet

SPOTLIGHT ON DISNEY

Wall Street expects Walt Disney racked up more losses in the last three months of 2020.

Analysts predict Disney will report Thursday that it remained in the red in its fiscal first quarter versus a year earlier. The company slid to a loss in its fourth quarter. Disney’s earnings have been eaten up by costs related to the company’s restructuring of its streaming services and lost revenue from its California theme parks, which remain closed due to the coronavirus.