US Jobs report: Labor Department won't release full October data as 43-day government shutdown disrupts survey

US Jobs report: With the 43-day-long government shutdown affecting households and establishments survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) won't be publishing a jobs report for October.

The BLS will incorporate those payrolls figures into the November report, which is due in a couple of weeks, as it could not complete a calculation of the unemployment rate and some other key numbers.

When does the report get published?

The Labour Bureau's ‘employment situation’ report usually comes out on the first Friday of the month.

This month, the report got delayed due to the government shutdown, which affected data collection.

The September jobs report was originally due on October 3. It will now be out on Thursday.

What data does the monthly report consist of?

The job report, which measures job creation, wages and other measurements of the labor market, is composed of two surveys:

— A survey of households that is used to determine the unemployment rate, among other things.

— The ‘establishment' survey of companies, nonprofits and government agencies that is used.

Last week, the advocacy group Friends of BLS, which is led in part by two of the agency’s former commissioners, told Bloomberg that because of the long shutdown, October 2025 will permanently remain a partial blind spot in America’s official record.

“In some cases, BLS will be unable to retroactively collect consistent information about Americans’ experiences during this period.”

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 and decide whether to cut their benchmark interest rate for the third time this year, reported AP.

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 the announcement. “No conspiracy here, folks,” she posted on the social media site Bluesky.