Economists, policymakers and investors will need to wait weeks for a more up-to-date picture of critical topics like inflation, spending and the labor market.
The government shutdown is over. The wait for data about the economy is not.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday that it will release its jobs report for September on Thursday, breaking the more than six-week data drought that began when federal funding lapsed on Oct. 1.
But economists, policymakers and investors will need to wait weeks for a more up-to-date picture of the labor market, as well as for fresh data on inflation, spending, home-building and more. When the data does begin to flow, it may come with an asterisk — some of the reports may be based on partial information, making them subject to more uncertainty than usual.
And some data will probably never be produced, a permanent gap in understanding that could have lasting consequences.
“I just don’t think we’re ever going to know what happened in October, at least not very accurately,” said Tara Sinclair, an economist at George Washing
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