Labor Department Postpones January Employment Report Amid Partial Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Labor Department announced on Monday that it will delay the release of January’s employment data, initially slated for this Friday, due to the ongoing partial federal government shutdown.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in its statement, mentioned, “Once funding is restored, BLS will resume normal operations and notify the public of any changes to the news release schedule.” The department is also postponing the release of the December job openings report, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday.

Previously, a historic 43-day government shutdown last fall resulted in delays for the jobs report and other critical economic data.

Experts were anticipating the January employment figures to reveal an increase of 80,000 jobs, a rise from the 50,000 jobs added in December.

This delay in crucial economic data arrives at a challenging moment for the economy, adding to the uncertainty of its current state.

Growth is strong: Gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — advanced from July through September at the fastest pace in two years.

But the job market is sluggish: Employers have added just 28,000 jobs a month since March. In the 2021-2023 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns, by contrast, they were creating 400,000 jobs a month.

Economists are trying to figure out if hiring will accelerate to catch up to strong growth or if growth will slow to match weak hiring, or if advances in artificial intelligence and automation mean that the economy can roar ahead without creating many jobs.