The U.S. Department of Labor Headquarters Building photographed at dusk on June 21, 2024 in Washington, DC.
J. David Ake | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its January employment report as scheduled on Friday due to the partial government shutdown, a department spokesperson confirmed Monday.
“The January 2026 employment status announcement will not be released as scheduled on Friday, February 6, 2026. The announcement will be rescheduled after federal funding resumes,” BLS Vice Chair Emily Liddell said in a statement.
The station was also just catching up from the incident, having had to postpone many of its regular releases following last year’s record shutdown that lasted until early November. BLS also publishes consumer price indexes, import and export data, and several other labor and consumer-related data.
It is unclear whether the Commerce Department will also face delays in reporting due to the impasse in Washington.
The decision comes ahead of a busy week of economic data scheduled to be released, culminating in the release of non-farm payrolls, also known as the unemployment situation. The report includes a tally of payrolls reported by businesses, which provides the key figure for nonfarm payrolls, as well as a household survey of the number of people who report remaining employed, which is used to compile the unemployment rate.
Markets expected the report to add 55,000 jobs and keep the unemployment rate steady at 4.4%.
In addition to employment numbers, the BLS was also scheduled to release job openings and turnover surveys on Tuesday.
The government closed again on Saturday after Congress failed to come up with a spending plan by the deadline. One sticking point in the bill was funding for the Department of Homeland Security following uproar over efforts to stop illegal immigration.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said over the weekend that he expected the impasse could be resolved by Tuesday.
