* Reports fuel jitters about labor market
* Boeing shares drop after strike vote
* Solid sales report from Wal-Mart overshadowed
* Services, oil data on tap
(Rewrites first paragraph, updates prices)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks headed for a lower
open on Thursday, weighed down by signs of deterioration in the
labor market and concern over the profit outlook.
A government report showed an unexpected jump in the number
of people filing for jobless benefits in the recent week, while
a report by ADP Employer Services showed that U.S. private
employers cut 33,000 jobs in August.
Stocks set to drag on the market include Boeing <BA.N>,
down 2.3 percent at $64.55 before the bell, after the plane
maker's largest labor union said its members had rejected the
company's contract offer and voted to strike.
The economic data was all the more unnerving for investors
as it came just a day before the all-important release of the
government's August non-farm payrolls report.
Concern about the economy overshadowed news of a solid
August sales report from Wal-Mart Stores <WMT.N>, the world's
largest retailer.
"The job market has been just a slow drip of bad news,"
said John Augustine, chief investment strategist at Fifth Third
Asset Management in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"That's better than an open faucet, but it's still bad news
for the economy. The stock market is struggling because it's
waiting for better labor market news."
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 6.30 points and were below fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> fell 85
points and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures lost 14.25 points.
The August reading on the vast services sector by the
Institute for Supply Management is due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT).
Investors will also pay close attention to the government's
report on energy inventories for the recent week, which is due
at 10:35 a.m. (1435 GMT).
(Additional reporting by Steven Johnson, Editing by Kenneth
Barry)
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Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS