The White House confirmed Tuesday that the October jobs report will be released only in part, leaving key data on unemployment unavailable after the government shutdown officially ended.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett discussed the issues and noted that certain key parts would be missing, explaining that specific portions of the survey could not be conducted due to the shutdown.
“The household survey wasn’t conducted in October, so we’re going to get half the employment report,” he said, per Bloomberg. “We’ll get the jobs part, but we won’t get the unemployment rate, and that’ll just be for one month.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the end of the government shutdown will allow federal workers to return to work, with future jobs reports expected to be provided on time moving forward.
Republican leaders have stated that the shutdown disrupted critical government reporting, pointing to the Democrats’ unwillingness to budge on the shutdown for over one month.
“The Democrats may have permanently damaged the Federal Statistical system with October CPI and jobs reports likely never being released,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, according to CNBC. “All of that economic data released will be permanently impaired, leaving our policymakers at the Fed, flying blind at a critical period.”
Although t
he White House will be unable to release certain information, recent private-secotr data offered a glimpse into the job market during the shutdown.
A recent report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas stated that job layoff announcements jumped to over 153,000 during the month of October, which was an increase by 175% when compared to October 2024 and the highest number recorded since 2003.
“This is the highest total for October in over 20 years, and the highest total for a single month in the fourth quarter since 2008. Like in 2003, a disruptive technology is changing the landscape,” states the report, referencing artificial intelligence as part of the reason for the layoffs, per CNN.
However, there is reason to be hopeful about the future.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, recent data shows inflation cooling and wages rising under President Donald Trump, with The White Hosue citing Doordash’s State of Local Commerce report.
This report evaluates the prices of common goods to help determine whether inflation is rising or falling, stating that the price eggs, milk, bagels, and avocados decreasing by 14% between March and September.