Friday’s business headlines

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Here’s a look at Friday’s business headlines.

Monthly jobs report

Wall Street and Washington is closely watching Friday’s May jobs report.

Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expect Friday’s report to show the economy adding 650,000 nonfarm jobs and the unemployment rate falling to 5.9%.

The April report was a huge disappointment so market watchers are bracing for any surprises.

Restaurants

Eateries in several states, including Florida, Texas, Nevada and Virginia, all saw at least a 10% increase in bookings on Memorial Day compared to the same day two years prior. This while the number of restaurants-goers in New York state remained 34% lower, according to data from restaurant booking and monitoring site OpenTable.

Even restaurants in hard-hit California and Florida served more diners Monday than they did on the same day in 2019, the data shows.

Boeing

Boeing plans to test whether blasts of air could prevent germs and viruses such as COVID-19 from circulating between rows of jetliner passengers, as part of a broader initiative to make air travel safer and greener.

The plane maker is installing 20 overhead air vents with special 3D-printed nozzles to create a “curtain of air” in a new 737Max 9 Jet.

Meat production

Meat production in the U.S. is climbing back toward normal levels, with the government pressing other companies to boost output while JBS S.A.’s meat plants recover last weekend’s cyber attack.

Cattle-slaughtering in the U.S. had essentially returned to normal Thursday, with 120,000 head slaughtered, just 1,000 less than a week earlier, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.