Overview
- Congress approved a stopgap to reopen federal agencies after roughly 42–43 days, lifting the data embargo and paving the way for updated release calendars from BLS, Census and BEA.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the October Consumer Price Index and employment report will likely never be released, and NEC Director Kevin Hassett said some October surveys were never completed.
- Economists and former BLS officials warn that physical-data components — notably October CPI and the employment household survey — are hard or impossible to reconstruct, while fully collected September reports should follow soon after reopening.
- Policy analysts urge prioritizing November employment and inflation releases so the Federal Reserve has fresh readings for its Dec. 9–10 meeting; agencies say they will publish revised schedules once operations resume.
- Private gauges suggest a softer labor market in October, with ADP reporting a 42,000 gain in private payrolls and some bank estimates pointing to a decline, as shutdown-related GDP hit estimates range from about 1.5 to 2 percentage points annualized for the quarter.