US October Jobs and CPI May Never Be Published, White House Warns as Shutdown Disrupts Data Pipeline

The White House said Wednesday that the October US jobs report and consumer price index are unlikely to be released, marking an unprecedented disruption to America’s economic data system as the government shutdown continues.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that key statistical agencies — including the Bureau of Labor Statistics — halted data collection and publication when the shutdown began, leaving policymakers without crucial indicators needed to assess the economy’s momentum. While some datasets could be reconstructed retroactively, economists have cautioned that the CPI and unemployment rate are among the releases most at risk of being skipped entirely.

The BLS has not issued an updated calendar or indicated whether missing releases might be combined into future reports. In previous shutdowns, the agency has restored operations quickly, but officials now face the challenge of incomplete surveys that cannot be reproduced after the fact.

Leavitt said Democrats “may have permanently damaged the federal statistical system” by allowing the funding impasse to drag on. The White House did not clarify the source of that assessment and did not respond to follow-up requests.

The standoff stemmed from Democratic demands to attach Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions and Medicaid funding adjustments to the stopgap funding measure — conditions Republicans rejected. A compromise bill advanced in the Senate earlier this week, and the House is expected to vote on it as soon as Wednesday.

The uncertainty extends to the composition of the monthly jobs report, which relies on two different surveys. While the business survey that produces payroll data can often be reconstructed from employer records, the household survey used to calculate the unemployment rate is far more sensitive to real-time phone interviews. White House economic director Kevin Hassett said some of those surveys “were never actually completed,” meaning the October data may not be recoverable.

Leavitt said the absence of economic indicators is leaving Federal Reserve officials “flying blind” ahead of their December 9–10 policy meeting, where investors are looking for clarity on whether the central bank will cut rates again.