The week ahead: Labor Day and labor numbers

As we turn the corner toward the Labor Day holiday (already?) and the weather starts to cool down, inflation evidently hasn't chilled enough for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell, at least not yet. Markets are still processing comments he made Aug. 25 indicating that the Fed is staying the course and will keep raising interest rates for as long as it takes to ease inflation. With his comments in mind, this week investors will be taking note of the U.S. August jobs report, European inflation data and the state of China's manufacturing sector.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its August payroll data Friday, after the agency reported Aug. 23 that it had revised its March 2023 employment report downward by 306,000 positions. Still, a strong jobs report would likely place more pressure on the Fed to keep hiking rates when the central bank next meets Sept. 19-20.

• Monday is a bank holiday in the U.K., and on Tuesday the European Commission will release European Union economic forecasts. Investors will also be taking a close look at inflation data when the year-over-year EU consumer price index numbers land Thursday.

• China is dealing with a sick real estate market and high unemployment for young adults, setting off alarms and fears of economic contagion. On Wednesday, the Chinese government will release the China manufacturing purchasing managers index that is an early monthly snapshot of the country’s manufacturing sector.