The first Friday of every month is a red-letter day for economists, investors, and policymakers across the United States. Known as "jobs Friday," it’s when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) typically unveils the previous month’s employment report—an essential snapshot of the nation’s economic health. But on October 3, 2025, that tradition ground to a halt. The culprit? An ongoing government shutdown that has shuttered federal offices, furloughed thousands of workers, and left the country flying blind at a crucial economic crossroads.
As reported by ABC News and other outlets, the BLS is temporarily closed, with its more than 2,000 employees sent home until Congress approves new funding. This closure has delayed the release of September’s employment data, leaving policymakers and the public alike without their usual window into the labor market. The monthly jobs report isn’t just a routine blip on the economic radar; it’s a pivotal tool for the Federal Reserve as it weighs interest rate decisions and for businesses and families trying to make sense of the shifting economic landscape.
The timing couldn’t be worse. According to NBC News, the U.S. unemployment rate has crept up this year, moving from a seasonally adjusted 4% in January to 4.3% in August 2025. Just this week, ADP—a major payroll processing firm—released private-sector employment data showing a net loss of 32,000 jobs in September. That’s a sharp contrast to the 45,000-job gain economists had been expecting. The surprise drop only underscored how valuable the official jobs report would have been for those trying to read the economic tea leaves.
But with the BLS’s doors closed, the data blackout is complete. "The Bureau of Labor Statistics is closed, delaying release of September employment data," ABC News confirmed. And it’s not just the jobs report in limbo. If the shutdown drags on, other key economic indicators—like the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index—could also be delayed. BLS data on import prices, expected later this month, may also be postponed.
Federal Reserve officials now face the unenviable task of making critical decisions about interest rates without their most reliable data. When the Fed cut borrowing costs last month, Chairman Jerome Powell described the economic picture as unusually murky. "Ordinarily, when the labor market is weak, inflation is low, and when the labor market is really strong, that’s when you’ve got to be careful about inflation," Powell said at a mid-September news conference, as quoted by NBC News. But with both inflation and labor market weakness in play, he admitted, "there’s no risk-free path" for policymakers. "It’s quite a difficult situation for policymakers," Powell added.
JPMorgan Chase analysts echoed that uncertainty in a note to clients, suggesting that if the jobs report remains unavailable, the Fed will have to rely on alternative data: "If there is no employment report, then we expect them to focus on available indicators, including ADP, consumer confidence, jobless claims, and other private-sector measures of employment, job openings, and announced job cuts." The Federal Reserve, for its part, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about how the missing data might affect its upcoming deliberations.
The process for preparing the jobs report is typically meticulous and tightly controlled. Former BLS Commissioner William Beach explained in a blog post for Fiscal Lab on Capitol Hill that the final draft of the report is usually presented to the commissioner on the Wednesday before publication. This allows for briefings with key stakeholders, including the Federal Reserve board and White House officials, on the eve of jobs Friday. "The president and his economic team only see the data the day before publication," Beach wrote. "So, if there is no publication on Friday, the administration does not get a preview of it on Thursday."
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has promised that the data will be released as soon as the government reopens. "As soon as this government opens...we want to get these numbers out," Chavez-DeRemer told Fox Business. But even if a deal is reached in the coming days, it’s unclear exactly when the September jobs report will see the light of day. History offers some clues: after a 17-day shutdown in 2013, it took the BLS four days to release the delayed jobs data, and the Consumer Price Index wasn’t published until more than a week after agencies reopened.
The shutdown’s effects extend far beyond the BLS. According to ABC News, many federal offices remain closed, and thousands of government workers are furloughed—meaning paychecks are delayed and vital services are on hold. The Senate is expected to vote again on Democratic and Republican short-term spending bills aimed at ending the impasse, but so far, those efforts have failed to advance.
Adding another layer of complexity, the Trump administration has canceled $7.6 billion in grants supporting clean energy projects in 16 states—all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election, as reported by NBC News. While this move is separate from the shutdown itself, it reflects the broader atmosphere of political and economic uncertainty gripping the nation.
Despite the disruption, most economists believe the shutdown’s direct impact on the overall economy will be minimal and temporary. As NBC News noted, any dent to growth is likely to be made up in the coming months once government operations resume. Still, the lack of timely data adds a thick layer of fog to an already challenging environment. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin put it memorably in a lecture earlier this year: "With all this change, a dense fog has fallen. It’s not an everyday ‘forecasting is hard’ type of fog. It’s a ‘zero visibility, pull over and turn on your hazards’ type of fog."
For now, the country waits. The fate of the September jobs report—and the clarity it could bring—hangs on the outcome of negotiations in Congress. Until then, policymakers, businesses, and ordinary Americans are left to navigate the economy with one eye closed, hoping that the shutdown’s resolution will bring the vital data back into the light.
