Shutdown Likely to Halt October CPI, White House Says

The White House warned the ongoing U.S. government shutdown will likely prevent publication of October’s Consumer Price Index because Bureau of Labor Statistics field surveyors cannot deploy while appropriations are lapsed. September’s CPI was published on a delay and was up about 3% year-over-year. The BLS has paused active data collection, said future releases will be suspended until funding is restored, and indicated it will resume normal operations once funded. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other officials said a missing October report could leave businesses, markets, families and the Federal Reserve in disarray and warned of severe economic consequences. Roughly 700,000 federal workers have been furloughed and nearly as many are working without pay, which could depress household spending and complicate timetables such as the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment that rely on timely CPI data. The White House and several outlets framed the disruption as a partisan failure tied to Congress' inability to pass a stopgap funding bill.