US jobs report delayed amid shutdown
The US Labour Department on Monday announced that a highly anticipated report on hiring and jobs will be delayed due to a partial government shutdown, creating further disruption to data releases at a crucial time for the economy.
While the world’s largest economy has shown solid growth recently, analysts have been tracking US figures for potential signs of weakness in the labor market as unemployment drifted higher towards the end of last year. The jobless rate dipped slightly in December, though some central bank officials have cautioned about fragility in the labor market, a key driver of consumption.
“Due to the partial federal government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will suspend data collection, processing, and dissemination,” the department said on Monday. It added that this pause affects the employment report originally scheduled for publication on Friday morning.
The department said its release, along with several other reports, will be “rescheduled upon the resumption of government funding.” A record-long government shutdown in late 2025 had recently caused similar delays to a range of economic data, forcing policymakers, financial institutions, and business owners to turn to alternative sources.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump urged the House of Representatives to quickly adopt a spending bill and end the current three-day stoppage.
The shutdown followed a breakdown in negotiations because of Democratic anger over the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents. This derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security.
(With AFP inputs)