The government shutdown has halted federal agencies from publishing key inflation and labor data used by the Fed to guide monetary policy. However, October’s data may never be published, which would mark the first time that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has missed an inflation report.
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“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 on Wednesday.
Fed ‘Flying Blind’ ahead of Interest Rate Decision
Leavitt added that economic data “will be permanently impaired” and that the Fed would be “flying blind at a critical period.” The Fed will hold its next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on December 9-10.
The news comes as the labor market had already begun to show signs of weakness. Last week, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported 153,074 job cuts in October, the highest total for the month since 2003. On Wednesday, ADP announced that U.S. private payrolls fell by an average of 11,250 per week for the four weeks ended October 25.
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