White House officials: Some key economic data for the U.S. in October may be permanently lost

Economists are concerned that key information about inflation and unemployment in the U.S. for October may disappear into a data "black hole," and they are right: White House officials have indicated that some key economic data may be permanently lost.

One of President Trump's chief economic advisors, Hassett, stated in an interview on Thursday that due to the longest government shutdown in history, the unemployment rate for October will not be published, marking the first time in 77 years that this data will go unreported.

However, Hassett noted that the estimates for job creation in October will still be calculated—this is in direct contrast to White House Press Secretary Levitt's claim a day earlier that the employment report might not be released at all.

What remains unclear is whether the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October will be published. Levitt had suggested that the CPI report might not be released, but Hassett did not comment on this. (Jin Shi)