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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- At 36 days, this is the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
- This year’s shutdown affects all government agencies and statistical services, whereas previous shutdowns were only partial since some agencies were funded by Congress.
- Several key economic reports have been delayed by the shutdown, including the jobs report, inflation data and retail sales report.
It’s a government shutdown like no other.
It’s the 36th day of the government shutdown that began on Oct. 1, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Prior to this, the longest shutdown had been 35 days in 2018. That wasn’t a full government work stoppage like this one, since some government agencies were funded through congressional appropriations before that shutdown began.
The shutdown has halted the flow of key economic data from the government that’s used by economists, policymakers and businesses to make critical decisions. Reports from statistical agencies like the Census Bureau, Department of Labor, and Department of Agriculture are all on hold because they lack the staffing to administer the surveys and data collection.
Why This Matters To The Economy
The longest U.S. government shutdown in history presents another significant threat to the economy alongside headwinds from tariffs, immigration and inflation. The longer investors and officials go without key economic data, the greater the risk of making mistakes based on outdated or imperfect information.
So far, the shutdown has delayed October releases on U.S. employment levels, retail sales and new home sales. It’s also likely to delay another release of the U.S. jobs report, which was originally scheduled for Friday.
The current shutdown is poised to continue for days or even weeks, according to betting market Polymarket. The prediction market found that 70% of respondents expect the standoff to continue until Nov. 15.
Here’s a list of all the government reports that have been delayed by the shutdown.
| Data Drought: The list of unreleased government reports grows longer as the showdown drags on. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Report | Statistical Agency |
| Oct. 1 | Construction Spending | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 1 | Grain Crushings | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 1 | Fats and Oils | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 2 | Motor Vehicle Sales | Bureau of Economic Analysis |
| Oct. 2 | Export Sales | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 2 | Weekly Jobless Claims | Department of Labor |
| Oct. 2 | Factory Orders | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 3 | Employment Situation | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Oct. 6 | Crop Progress | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 7 | International Trade in Goods and Services | Bureau of Economic Analysis |
| Oct. 8 | Business Formation | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 9 | Weekly Jobless Claims | Department of Labor |
| Oct. 9 | Export Sales | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 9 | Wholesale Sales and Inventories (Preliminary) | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 9 | Supply/Demand (agricultural products) | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 9 | Crop Production | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 14 | Crop Progress | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 15 | Real Earnings | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Oct. 16 | Weekly Jobless Claims | Department of Labor |
| Oct. 16 | Producer Price Index | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Oct. 16 | Retail Sales | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 17 | Export Sales | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 17 | Import and Export Prices | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Oct. 17 | Housing Starts | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 17 | Industrial Production | Federal Reserve |
| Oct. 17 | Treasury International Capital | Treasury Department |
| Oct. 20 | Crop Progress | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 23 | Weekly jobless claims | Department of Labor |
| Oct. 23 | Export sales | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 24 | Cattle on feed | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 24 | Cold storage | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 24 | New home sales | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 27 | Durable-goods orders | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 27 | Crop progress | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 29 | Advanced U.S. trade Balance in Goods | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 29 | Advanced Retail Inventories | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 29 | Advanced Wholesale Inventories | Census Bureau |
| Oct. 30 | Weekly Jobless Claims | Department of Labor |
| Oct. 30 | Q3 Gross Domestic Product | Bureau of Economic Analysis |
| Oct. 30 | Export Sales | Department of Agriculture |
| Oct. 31 | Personal Consumption Expenditure Index | Bureau of Economic Analysis |
| Oct. 31 | Q3 Employment Cost Index | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Oct. 31 | Farm Prices | Department of Agriculture |
| Nov. 3 | Construction Spending | Census Bureau |
| Nov. 3 | Export Inspections | Department of Agriculture |
| Nov. 3 | Crop Progress | Department of Agriculture |
| Nov. 3 | Grain Crushings | Department of Agriculture |
| Nov. 3 | Fats and Oils | Department of Agriculture |
| Nov. 4 | Trade Balance | Census Bureau |
| Nov. 4 | Factory Orders | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Nov. 4 | Job Openings | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Correction, Nov. 5, 2025: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of days the government had been shut down.
Update, Nov. 5, 2025: This article has been updated with new information from Polymarket.
