<figure id="attachment_3273208" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3273208" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3273208" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/5ca19c37-us-economy.jpg" alt="US economy" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3273208" class="wp-caption-text">A record-long US shutdown in late 2025 forced financial institutions and businesses to rely on alternative economic sources. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
WASHINGTON: The US Labor Department said Monday that a closely watched report on hiring and jobs will be delayed due to a partial government shutdown, marking a further disruption to data releases at a key time for the economy.
While the world&#8217;s biggest economy has posted solid growth recently, analysts have been monitoring US figures for signs of further weakness in the jobs market as unemployment drifted higher towards the end of last year.
The jobless rate ticked down slightly in December. But some central bank officials have warned of fragility in the labour market, which has been an important factor supporting consumption in recent times.
&#8220;Due to the partial federal government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will suspend data collection, processing, and dissemination,&#8221; the department said on Monday.
It added that this halt impacts the employment report originally scheduled for publication on Friday morning.
Its release, alongside those of a few other reports, will be &#8220;rescheduled upon the resumption of government funding,&#8221; the department said.
A record-long government shutdown in late 2025 had very recently caused similar delays to a host of economic data, forcing policymakers, financial institutions and business owners to search for alternative sources.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump urged the House of Representatives to quickly adopt a spending bill and end the current three-day stoppage.
The shutdown followed a breakdown in negotiations because of Democratic anger over the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents. This derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security.

MatchPoint Times

US govt says key data on jobs delayed due to shutdown

Economic report setbacks add to disruption as the US jobs market shows signs of weakness and unemployment drifts higher.

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