Labor Department Recalls Furloughed Workers To Compile Critical Inflation Data

The Department of Labor is recalling employees who were furloughed in the government shutdown to prepare the release of the consumer price index for September, according to an administration official.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics needs to compile the report so the Social Security Administration can calculate an annual cost-of-living adjustment that’s linked to inflation, the official said. That adjustment needs to be published by Nov. 1, they said, and the CPI report for September had been scheduled for release on Oct. 15.

The bureau said Friday that the CPI will now be released on Oct. 24 to allow SSA “to meet statutory deadlines necessary to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits.” Another key BLS report on payrolls and unemployment in September that had been scheduled for Oct. 3 remains on hold.

"No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services,” the agency said in its statement announcing the CPI date.

The quality and timeliness of economic data produced by the agency are critical to Federal Reserve interest rate decisions that affect everything from mortgage rates to corporate borrowing. Those economic indicators are also closely watched by Wall Street traders and business leaders, informing investment and hiring decisions.

Former BLS officials and economists had cautioned that the absence of the data due to the shutdown could pose significant problems for both the Fed and businesses against an uncertain economic backdrop. Official government data published prior to the Oct. 1 shutdown indicated that the labor market was softening and inflation was starting to climb.

It is unclear how many BLS staffers will be brought back to conduct the work or for how long, amid a shutdown that has yet to see a clear path toward a resolution in Congress.

The challenges posed by the shutdown hit the agency as it was already facing scrutiny over the quality of its employment data. President Donald Trump’s firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer fueled concern that future reports might eventually be manipulated for political gain.

The upper ranks of BLS were depleted before the lapse in government appropriations — particularly after Trump fired the Senate-confirmed McEntarfer back in August. The White House subsequently nominated Heritage Foundation chief economist E.J. Antoni but withdrew his bid last week after intense scrutiny over his partisan work and incendiary social media posts.

Acting Commissioner William Wiatrowski was the only BLS employee who had not initially been furloughed, according to DOL’s contingency plan. The agency was unaffected by the previous shutdown under Trump that began in late 2018 and stretched for more than a month.

BLS did suspend operations in the 2013 shutdown during the Obama administration, which lasted between Oct. 1 and Oct. 16 of that year. In that instance, BLS resumed data collection after the government reopened.

DOL's shutdown plan, which was approved by the White House, had previously hinted at the potential knock-on effect on Social Security.

“A delay of the CPI release during October of each year might have an impact on the Cost of Living Adjustment announcement by the Social Security Administration,” it said.