Betsey Stevenson, who was the Labor Department’s chief economist from 2010 to 2011 and is now at the University of Michigan, said this week’s jobs figures would typically be wrapped up earlier in the week and could presumably get out the door. But data collection isn’t considered so necessary that it must be done even when the rest of the government is shut down.
Still, such information is crucial for a broader understanding — among central bankers and business owners alike — of how the economy is faring, where the unemployment rate stands and how the stock market should set expectations, Stevenson said.
