BLS says full October jobs data won't be released, available figures to be included in next report

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday it will not release a full U.S. jobs report for the month of October, following the longest federal government shutdown in the history of the country.

Instead, the agency said October payroll data will be released along with a full report for November. An unemployment rate for October will not be included in those figures because the data “could not be collected,” the BLS said, citing the shutdown.

The agency also pushed back its November jobs data release to Dec. 16 from Dec. 5. The new date is six days after the Federal Reserve concludes its final policy meeting of the year — leaving the central bank with less information on the state of the economy. The delayed September nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled to be released on Thursday.

Without the full October data — and following recent hawkish commentary from some Fed officials — traders may be pricing in a lower chance of another rate reduction.

The CME Group's FedWatch tool at midday Wednesday showed there's a 63.8% chance that the Fed keeps its overnight benchmark rate steady in the 3.75%-4% range. That's up from around 50% earlier in the day.