Labor Dept. won't release full October jobs report

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department said Wednesday that it will not be releasing a full jobs report for October because the 43-day federal government shutdown meant it couldn't calculate the unemployment rate and some other key numbers. Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data — most importantly the number of jobs that employers created last month — along with the full November jobs report, now due a couple of weeks late on Dec. 16. The department's "employment situation'' report usually comes out the first Friday of the month. But the government shutdown disrupted data collection and delayed the release of the reports. For example, the September jobs report, now coming out Thursday, was originally due Oct. 3. The monthly jobs report consists of two parts: a survey of households that is used to determine the unemployment rate, among other things; and the "establishment'' survey of companies, nonprofits and government agencies that is used to track job creation, wages and other measurements of labor market health. The Labor Department said Wednesday that the household survey for October could not be conducted because of the shutdown and could not be done retroactively. But it was able to collect the hiring numbers from employers, and those will come out with the full November report. Wednesday's announcement means the September jobs numbers will likely get extra scrutiny Thursday. They are the last full measurement of hiring and unemployment that Federal Reserve policymakers will see before they meet Dec. 9-10. The Fed is sharply split o ver whether to reduce its key interest rate for a third time this year next month. Those divisions could be largely resolved by fresh economic data if it showed a sharp deterioration in the job market, economists say, because that would likely encourage more officials to support a rate cut. But the absence of data could embolden those policymakers who want to wait for more evidence about where the economy is headed before reducing rates again. At its last meeting in late October many Fed officials said the central bank should proceed with caution, given the "reduced availability of key economic data." The jobs numbers have lately been contentious. After the July jobs report proved disappointing, President Donald Trump abruptly fired the official responsible for collecting the data, Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer. McEntarfer herself was quick to say there was nothing suspicious about Wednesday's announcement. "No conspiracy here, folks," she posted on the social media site Bluesky. "BLS was entirely shutdown for six weeks. Payroll data from firms can be retroactively collected for October. The household survey cannot be conducted retrospectively. This is just a straightforward consequence of having all field staff furloughed for over a month.''