The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced on Friday that its first report following the government shutdown will be September's nonfarm payrolls. The data is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday.
This development follows the 42-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, which began on Oct. 1 and concluded after a bipartisan Senate deal on Wednesday that approved funding for government operations through Jan. 30.
Missing Data Complicates Economic Picture
The Labor Department did not release its weekly report on the number of Americans signing up for unemployment benefits for seven straight weeks. That jobless claims report is seen as a potential early indicator of where the labor market is headed.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, issued a warning on Wednesday regarding the lack of data, saying that “Democrats permanently damaged the federal statistical system with October consumer price index (CPI) and jobs reports likely never being released.”
September CPI was the only official data point released during the shutdown due to its role in computing Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.
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September’s CPI data:
| Metric | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Headline Inflation (YoY) | 3.0% | Slightly below forecast (3.1%) |
| Core Inflation (YoY) | 3.0% | Slowed from 3.1% |
| Monthly Core Inflation | 0.2% | Below expectations |
Benzinga earlier reported that the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 94.6 in October from 95.6 in September, while major employers such as Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS), and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) announced significant job cuts.
Political Pressure Mounts Over Delayed Data
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in early October that the Federal Reserve is "flying blind" and accused President Trump of deliberately withholding the delayed September jobs data.
In the absence of official Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, Carlyle Group data from early October showed that only 17,000 jobs were created in September, below the 54,000 forecast, marking the weakest hiring since the 2020 recession.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
