From the Wall Street Journal, October 9:
Some employees to return despite shutdown because the report is needed to calculate cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries
The federal agency that produces much of the nation’s economic data will bring some furloughed employees back to work so it can publish a key inflation report for September, an administration official said.
The decision to recall some workers despite the government shutdown will allow the government to calculate Social Security payments, which are tied to inflation data.
Bureau of Labor Statistics staff will “promptly resume work” on the September consumer-price index, the official said. The index, which calculates prices of various goods, was originally scheduled to publish on Oct. 15. It is unclear when the report will be published, though the official suggested sometime this month.
Like other key economic indicators, the inflation report was expected to be delayed because nearly all employees of the Bureau of Labor Statistics are furloughed during the shutdown.
The consumer-price index is a crucial economic data point relied on by investors, policymakers and businesses. The Federal Reserve pays close attention to the report when it considers decisions on interest rates.
It is also used to calculate annual cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security benefits, which are required to be published by Nov. 1, using third-quarter inflation figures. Without the September data, the adjustments “would be substantially damaged or prevented” if the inflation report isn’t released by that date, the administration official said....
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