August numbers were revised upward, suggesting the economy enjoyed rising momentum before an acrimonious budget fight in Washington took some of the wind out of its sails.
The data, usually issued on the first Friday of the month, was delayed by the government shutdown. The jobs report for October will be released on Friday, Nov. 8, one week later than scheduled.
It will take some weeks if not months before analysts can fully assess the economic impact of the 16-day government shutdown, but most economists think the temporary closure of operations and furloughs of about 800,000 employees will shave a half percentage point of economic growth in the fourth quarter.
Economists estimate the 16-day government shutdown shaved as much as 0.6 percentage point off annualized fourth-quarter gross domestic product, through reduced government output and damage to both consumer and business confidence.
Officials at the Federal Reserve are likely to hold off any decision on scaling back the U.S. central bank’s bond buying until the extent of the economic damage from the budget fight is clearer.