Is the job market getting worse? As the shutdown continues, this is what we know
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The government shutdown is again making it it hard to answer a critical question: How is the U.S. job market doing?
The impasse in Congress over funding has delayed a closely-watched report on the labor market for the second month in a row.
Without that official jobs tally, the available signals are mixed. This week, a big payroll processing company reported an uptick in October hiring, for example. But a consulting firm that tracks pink slips noted a big surge in layoff notices.
Policymakers typically look to monthly surveys from the Bureau of Labo
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