Business news in the week ahead: February unemployment figures

Here are some of the reports out this week that will tell us how the economy is doing.

Today, Times reporter David Pierson reports from Beijing thatChina’s leadership is trying to tap the brakes on that country’s runaway growth.

Speaking to about 3,000 delegates at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao said China would cut its growth target for the first time in eight years, from 8% to 7.5%, to make the country’s economy more “sustainable and efficient.”

“Half a percentage point may not seem like much,” Pierson writes, “but in China, it broadcasts a signal to policymakers, both national and local, that development will have to strike a better balance.”

Later in the morning, the Institute for Supply Management released its service sector index for February, and the Commerce Department released its factory orders report for January. Service companies expanded at the fastest pace in a year, but factory orders fell. Read more here.

On Wednesday, the Labor Department releases fourth-quarter productivity data and the Federal Reserve releases consumer credit numbers.

On Thursday, the Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims, and mortgage company Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates.

On Friday, the Labor Department releases employment data for February, and the Commerce Department releases international trade data.

The unemployment report will be the most anticipated of the week. In January, the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%, the fifth consecutive monthly decline. We’ll see if the February report keeps up the trend.

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