The jobs report for September numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which was planned for Oct. 2, will not be released due to the federal government shutdown Oct. 1. A statement on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website reads: “This website is currently not being updated due to the suspension of Federal government services. The last update to the site was Wednesday, October 1, 2025. Updates to the data will start again when the Federal government resumes operations.”
The jobs report will be released after the federal government reopens, but the new release date is unknown and depends on the duration of the shutdown. Following past shutdowns, the BLS has taken time to resume operations and ensure data quality before rescheduling releases.
The jobs data was not likely to be seen as positive for the economy, as the ADP National Employment Report, a measure of private employment in the U.S., noted on Oct. 1 that payrolls at private employers declined by 32,000 jobs last month, signaling the labor market continued to face headwinds in September.
The job loss is another indicator that the labor market is softening. Job growth has slowed this year even as the unemployment rate hasn’t moved up or down significantly. The Federal Reserve last month lowered short-term interest rates by a quarter percentage point, while signaling that more cuts may be on the way, citing weak hiring.
Before the shutdown, Fed members were emphasizing the downside risks related to labor conditions, with most predicting at least one more interest rate cut this year. Mortgage rates fell sharply, almost 30 basis points, in the weeks leading up to the last rate cut in September.
Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee on Oct. 1 told FOX Business Network’s Edward Lawrence that the central bank will look at alternate data sources to consider at its October meeting if upcoming economic data is not released as scheduled due to a potential government shutdown.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the best source of data that we have,” he said. “It pains me that we wouldn’t be getting official statistics at exactly the moment when we’re trying to figure out if the economy is in transition.
“That said, just recently, the Chicago Fed introduced the labor market indicators which takes 11 different data sources, some of which are the official data but many of which are private sector, and makes a real-time forecast of what the next unemployment rate would be.
“So we will lean heavily on our hiring-rate estimates, on our layoffs and other separation-rate estimates, and on our nowcast of the unemployment rate. The more you’re covering up one eye or both eyes, it’s tougher to drive. These are the things we’re going to be looking at, and we’re in an environment where even the best data sources are noisier than they were in the old days.”
