NEW YORK -- U.S. stock futures are heading higher for the third straight day with a raft of economic indicators on tap, ranging from jobs and consumer debt, to productivity and international trade.

Dow Jones industrial futures are up 20 points to 14,285. The broader S&P futures have added 1.3 points to 1,540.40. Nasdaq futures are up 4 points to 2,792.25.

Also on Thursday, retailers are posting monthly sales figures for February.

Economists are predicting that the Labor Department will report that more people applied for unemployment benefits last week, but those applications are on a downward trend. More important is a jobs report Friday that covers all of February.

Economists believe the country added 152,000 jobs last month, and that the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, from 7.9 percent.

Photo Credit: Bebeto Matthews, AP