US cancels October CPI report release citing government shutdown

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has cancelled the release of the consumer price index report for October as the government shutdown, which ended recently, had made it difficult to collect the required data, the Bureau announced on Friday, November 21.

"For a few indexes, BLS uses nonsurvey data sources instead of survey data to make the index calculations," the BLS said in a statement, adding that it is "unable to retroactively collect these data."

"BLS is able to retroactively acquire most of the nonsurvey data for October. Where possible, BLS will publish October 2025 values for these series with the release of November 2025 data."

The statistics agency earlier announced that the CPI report for November, which was initially due to be released on December 10, will be published on December 18 instead.

The BLS also cancelled the issue of October's employment report citing the same reason.

However, the government will be releasing October non-farm payrolls along with the November employment report on December 16 but the US' unemployment rate for October - calculated from the household survey - will never come out.

The CPI is compiled mainly through in-person visits to retailers such as supermarkets, as well as through telephone interviews. Data from household surveys is similarly gathered via home visits and phone calls at specific times during the month.

The BLS also announced that it will release the third-quarter Employment Cost Index on December 10.

Since the ECI adjusts for changes in workforce composition and job quality, it is considered the most comprehensive measure of labor costs and is widely used by policymakers to gauge labour-market slack and anticipate movements in core inflation.