HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — The Trump administration has delayed the release of its monthly jobs report.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an agency within the Department of Labor, told The National News Desk on Monday that it will not release its employment report later this week because of the government shutdown.
BLS is one of many agencies that have stopped operating following Congress’s failure to pass funding legislation by the Saturday deadline. The Departments of Labor, Treasury, Defense, Homeland Security, State and others have all shut down.
Operations may resume soon, however, as the House considers a Senate-passed package that would fund most departments through the end of the fiscal year. House Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed optimism that the government will be fully open by Tuesday.
“Let’s say I’m confident that we’ll do it at least by Tuesday,” he told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town.”
Following the House’s passage of the bills, President Donald Trump will have to sign off. He encouraged Republicans and Democrats last week to “give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote.”
“The only thing that can slow our Country down is another long and damaging Government Shutdown,” Trump said in a social media post. “I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay.”
During the last government shutdown, which spanned 43 days from October to mid-November, all agencies stopped or scaled down operations. BLS also delayed the release of reports during that period and decided against collecting data for October.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said that the November jobs report, which showed an increase in jobs but a rise in unemployment, was evidence that the economy was gaining momentum.
“With 64,000 jobs added in November, more and more Americans are coming off the sidelines and working in the private sector,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “Investment has been booming thanks to the President’s America First policies, leading to strong nonresidential construction growth.”
Some economists have advised caution against the administration’s rosy view of the country’s finances. William Galston, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, wrote in a commentary last month that public perception of the economy’s health has harmed the administration’s reputation.
“Donald Trump returned to the White House with a familiar promise to ‘Make America Great Again.’ But for most Americans, greatness as they understand it remains elusive, and they do not believe that we are moving toward it,” Galston said.
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.
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