Government shutdown stalls housing starts report
The first government shutdown since 2019 has furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers since Oct. 1, suspending regularly scheduled releases of housing and economic data until employees return to work.
On Friday, that meant no September housing starts report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
New home sales data, scheduled for release next Friday, would also be affected if the shutdown continues.
Once the government reopens, agencies will likely post revised release calendars and reschedule delayed reports, as they have after previous shutdowns, according to Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at financial services firm First American.
Interest in holiday jobs surges. The availability of positions, not so much.
Interest in holiday jobs rose 27% year-over-year at the end of September and was 50% higher than 2023 levels, according to a report from job search site Indeed.
Despite increased interest, seasonal job postings were up just 2.7% compared to this time last year, Indeed data shows.
The data suggests job seekers may be searching for holiday positions earlier than usual.
Only 2% of holiday job postings explicitly stated they were urgently hiring at the end of September, compared to 10% in 2021, according to Indeed.