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WASHINGTON (AP) - The monthly U.S. jobs report may not be released as scheduled next Friday if the government partially shuts down.
The commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erica Groshen, said in a memo Friday that the agency's operations will cease and its website will not be updated if a shutdown occurs. But Groshen also said that the White House could authorize the release of the jobs figures.
During a 1995 government shutdown, the Labor Department issued a monthly report on inflation because the government had already gathered the data and didn't want it to leak. Groshen says the White House could take a similar step next week.
If the White House and Congress fail to agree on a spending bill by Tuesday, much of the government will shut down.
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