BLS delays January jobs and inflation reports after shutdown

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would delay multiple major economic releases after a brief, three-day partial federal government shutdown forced the agency to suspend operations. The pause interrupted data collection, processing and dissemination, complicating already fragile reporting schedules and forcing the agency to update its release calendar once funding resumes.

“Due to the partial federal government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will suspend data collection, processing, and dissemination,” the agency said in a statement. Emily Liddel, an associate commissioner at the BLS, added, “The release will be rescheduled upon the resumption of government funding.” The agency’s revised calendar sets the January employment situation report for Feb. 11 and the consumer price index for Jan. for Feb. 13; releases for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and metropolitan employment and unemployment data were also pushed back.

The disruption is more than a scheduling nuisance. The January employment report includes monthly nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate, average hourly earnings and annual revisions to employment estimates for 2024 and 2025. Economists surveyed ahead of the report had expected nonfarm payrolls to rise by roughly 60,000 and the unemployment rate to hold at 4.4 percent, reflecting sluggish labor-market momentum through the winter. Private payroll processor ADP reported that firms added 22,000 jobs in January, underscoring the soft trend.

The BLS has already been operating in recovery mode after a prior funding lapse last fall that disrupted its outputs. The agency did not produce an unemployment rate in October for the first time in the 77-year history of the statistic, and distortions related to the pause in data collection are expected to linger for months. Missing data and retroactive collection problems forced the cancellation or consolidation of several releases last year, and staffing attrition has left positions vacant at all levels, hampering the bureau’s capacity to catch up quickly.

Operationally, furloughs of nonessential workers prevent field staff from gathering household and payroll survey responses, and some inflation measures require timely collection from retailers and service providers that cannot be fully reconstructed after a gap. That vulnerability prompted the cancellation of certain October releases last year when retroactive collection proved impossible.

The delay comes as Capitol Hill moved to restore funding. The Senate approved a short-term extension and House leaders signaled intent to act; House Speaker Mike Johnson said he hoped the House would pass the measure promptly. Until funding is formally restored and agency staff return, the BLS warned that its release calendar could change further.

For markets and policymakers, the postponed reports concentrate the flow of labor and inflation data into a shorter window, raising the potential for sharper market moves when the figures appear. Investors and Federal Reserve watchers will be watching the rescheduled releases closely for signs on growth, wage pressures and inflation momentum. The bureau said it will post authoritative updates on the BLS release calendar once operations resume.