WASHINGTON – The looming government shutdown is poised to disrupt the release of next month’s inflation report, marking the first such occurrence in over 70 years, according to a statement from the White House on Friday. This development leaves both Wall Street and the Federal Reserve without key insights into consumer pricing trends.
The Trump administration conveyed via email that, due to the inability to deploy surveyors into the field, the upcoming inflation report is likely to be absent next month, a first in the country’s history.
Although some inflation data is gathered electronically, the majority requires in-person collection by government staff who routinely visit retail outlets nationwide. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, responsible for compiling this report, has already curtailed monthly data collection due to a hiring freeze initiated by the Trump administration, leaving several cities without surveyors.
This news follows the release of September’s inflation figures on Friday, which indicated a slight rise in prices, yet still fell below the forecasts of many economists. The report, delayed by nine days from its initial schedule, was compiled using data collected prior to the start of the shutdown on October 1.
Historically, during previous shutdowns, the consumer price index, the government’s primary inflation metric, relied on partial data collection. However, the Labor Department warns that it may now be too late to retrieve even that limited level of information.
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