The government shutdown has thus far had no effect on 74 percent of federal spending, but it has led to the furloughing of more than 2,000 of the 2,321 employees working at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and delayed the highly anticipated release of its monthly jobs report.
Published on the Friday of each month (except during government shutdowns), the BLS' Employment Situation report details changes in the unemployment and labor force participation rates, the absolute level of total payroll nonfarm employment, and the average hourly wage and weekly hours worked in the previous month. These estimates are produced from monthly surveys of businesses, government agencies, and households administered by the BLS and the Census Bureau.
