Government Shutdown Impact on Employment Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is currently in its "reference week", a period when employment data is typically collected.
In normal circumstances, the BLS would be surveying people about their employment status during this week, which includes the 12th of the month.
Since the government is shut down for this week that contains the 12th, that means they are not collecting data that would be in the jobs report.
This shutdown will affect the October jobs report, following the already missed September report, and will lead to delayed and revised data once the government reopens.
Kate Bahn, chief economist at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, discusses the implications of the shutdown on employment data with "Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal.
Author's summary: Shutdown affects employment data collection.