The U.S. Labor Department said on Monday its statistics agency would suspend economic data releases, including the closely watched monthly employment report for September, in the event of a partial government shutdown.
The employment report, crucial for decision-making by officials at the Federal Reserve, businesses and households, is scheduled for Friday. Government funding will expire at midnight on Tuesday unless Republicans and Democrats in Congress can agree to a last-minute temporary spending deal.
The Labor Department identified the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) among the key agencies whose activities would cease during a lapse in funding. President Donald Trump was due to meet with Republican and Democratic leaders on Monday.
The BLS confirmed it would "suspend data collection, processing and dissemination" should the government shut down. The statistical agency, however, said the August Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment report due on Wednesday would be published as part of shutdown procedures. It said a prolonged shutdown could delay the release of other data.
"Once funding is restored, BLS will resume normal operations and notify the public of any changes to the news release schedule on the BLS release calendar," the agency said in a statement.
It was not clear whether the weekly jobless claims report would continue to be published. The data is collected by states, which run the unemployment insurance programs, but the BLS does the seasonal adjustment.
CONCERNS ARE RISING OVER DATA QUALITY
The Commerce Department, whose Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau produce data including gross domestic product and retail sales, was yet to release its shutdown plans.
Possible delays publishing the employment report would come at a time when concerns are growing over the quality of government-produced economic data, long viewed as the gold standard.
The BLS warned "a reduction in quality of data collected might impact the quality of future estimates produced."
The BLS has suffered years of underfunding under both Republican and Democratic administrations. That situation has been worsened by mass firings, voluntary resignations, early retirements and hiring freezes, which are part of an unprecedented campaign by the Trump administration to drastically reduce the size of government.
Response rates for the employment report have declined and the agency has suspended data collection for portions of the consumer price index in some areas across the country.
The nomination of Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni, a critic of the BLS, to head the statistics agency is also adding another layer of worry over data quality.
Economists across political ideologies have described Antoni as unqualified for the position.
Should September's CPI report be delayed, that could leave the Social Security Administration unable to make its annual Cost of Living Adjustment announcement, which retirees depend on to plan their budgets.
