The U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday that September’s jobs report would not be released on time due to the government’s partial shutdown.
“Due to the lapse in funding, the Employment Situation release which provides data on employment during the month of September, compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, will not be issued as scheduled on Friday, October 4, 2013,” the Labor Department said in a statement. “An alternative release date has not been scheduled.”
The Washington Post reports that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is running with a skeleton crew of 3 employees, down from 2,400 before the shutdown.
The last jobs report disappointed economists, with August showing that 312,000 people had dropped out of the labor force.
A mere 63.2% of Americans are counted among the labor force now, the lowest number since August 1978.