NEW YORK (NewsNation) — The ripple effects of the government shutdown have hit Wall Street. The Labor Department will not release the September jobs report Friday morning as scheduled.
The shutdown has also halted data collection for October, leaving investors and monetary policymakers without one of the most closely watched indicators of the U.S. economy.
The report’s absence comes at a pivotal time for the Federal Reserve, which meets later this month to decide whether to again cut interest rates.
Report shows employer hiring plans at lowest level since 2009
32K private sector jobs lost in September: ADP
Officials with the Fed have stated they may rely on alternative data sources and survey business contacts to gauge the health of the labor market in the meantime.
One such indicator, the ADP private payroll report released Wednesday, showed the most significant monthly decline in jobs since March 2023. The United States lost 32,000 private sector jobs in September, a sharp contrast to economists’ expectations of a 45,000 gain.
CME: Fed likely to cut rates in October
If the Fed ends up having to rely on that data, it may also be able to factor in the threats to additional jobs being cut during the shutdown.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets currently expect a better than 90% chance of a rate cut later this month.
Government shutdown could delay key economic data at crucial moment
Markets hit highs amid government shutdown
Despite the data blackout, markets closed at record highs Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures each rising more than 0.2% on Friday morning.
Thursday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to its all-time high set the day before, closing at 6,715.35, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.4% to 22,844.05.
In other dealings on Friday, benchmark U.S. crude added 77 cents to $61.25 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 76 cents to $64.87 per barrel.
