As the federal government shutdown nears two weeks, it has delayed the release of important federal data reports that help guide economic policy.
Since non-essential federal government staff have been furloughed, September’s jobs report that was scheduled for release in early October was delayed. So have the first two weekly unemployment benefits report that shows the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits.
On Monday, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson predicted the shutdown may become the longest in American history. If that’s the case, the impact of the data halts could start impacting consumers.
“Money is really expensive,” retired marketing professor at MSU Denver Darrin Duber-Smith said. “t's really hard for a business to get a loan, which means it's hard for them to invest in their business, which includes hiring. So, you've got this vicious cycle of higher interest rates leading to less business investment, and then not having the information certainly doesn't help that situation."
The impact could affect Coloradans currently looking for work as businesses try to figure out where the economy is headed.
It could also impact investors who rely on data to make stock and bond decisions.
“[Consumers] really understand what affects their pocketbook, and really interest rates are affecting their pocketbook, and I think that that's what's been the impetus the inflation that became a major issue,” Duber-Smith said.
The federal government has decided to bring back furloughed workers in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics so Thursday’s Consumer Price Index report, a key inflation indicator, would still come out as planned.
This comes since the report guides cost-of-living adjustments for social security beneficiaries.
