BLS Scraps the October Jobs Report, Leaving a Gap in Shutdown-Era Data

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday it will not publish a jobs report for October, removing a key data point at a time of worry about a stagnant labor market and sticky inflation, NBC News, CNBC and PBS NewsHour reported.

The reason is the record-long government shutdown. “Household survey data from the Current Population Survey could not be collected for the October 2025 reference period due to a lapse in appropriations,” BLS said in a statement, adding that the data is “not able to be retroactively collected,” NBC News reported. As a result, there will be no unemployment rate for October, CNBC and PBS reported, because the household survey supplies that figure.

BLS will still publish some October information, taken from employer payroll data, alongside the November report, according to NBC News, CNBC and PBS. That report, normally released the first Friday of December, has been pushed to Dec. 16, all three reported; CNBC said it was moved from Dec. 5. The bureau will extend the collection period for November data and add processing time, NBC News reported.

The delayed September report is due Thursday morning, NBC, CNBC and PBS reported, ending a blackout on official jobs data. PBS said it was originally due Oct. 3 and will get extra scrutiny because it is the last full measure of hiring and unemployment before the Federal Reserve’s next meeting. CNBC reported that it will be the first BLS jobs report since the one released on Sept. 5.

The gaps complicate the Federal Reserve’s task. PBS reported that the Fed meets Dec. 9-10 and is sharply split on whether to cut its key rate a third time this year, and that officials at the late-October meeting cited the “reduced availability of key economic data” and urged caution. CNBC reported that Chair Jerome Powell has described the situation as “driving in the fog.”

NBC News described the labor market as stagnant and the inflation backdrop as sticky, raising fears of a broader slowdown. Economists said sharply weaker job data could encourage more Fed officials to back a cut, while the missing data could instead embolden those who want to wait, PBS reported.