Feds to bring back furloughed employees for inflation report — despite gov’t shutdown

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday it will release its monthly inflation report despite the government shutdown — bringing back furloughed employees for the task.

The agency is set to publish the Consumer Price Index for September on Oct. 24, nine days after it was initially due.

The government needs the report to calculate Social Security payments, the bureau noted in a statement on its website.

Consumer price data has already been collected, but it still needs to be analyzed.

The bureau, which operates under the Labor Department, is calling back a limited number of workers to help release the report, a Trump official told news outlets.

The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The government shutdown – which entered its 10th day on Friday – has forced BLS to pause all operations, sending economists and tech specialists home.

The recalled workers will “promptly resume work” on the inflation report, the Wall Street Journal quoted an administration official as saying.

Last week, the agency missed the usual deadline for it to release its highly-anticipated monthly jobs report. Economists and policymakers have been closely monitoring employment data, especially as some Fed officials cite a slowing labor market to justify further interest rate cuts.

BLS’ decision to release the CPI report is closely tied to the Social Security Administration’s annual cost-of-living adjustment, also known as COLA, which adjusts payments based on inflation. Social Security checks continue to go out during the shutdown.

The Social Security Administration is required by law to publish the adjustment for the following year by Nov. 1.

That release typically comes soon after the September CPI report, since price data from the third quarter is used to calculate the annual adjustment.

Retired and disabled workers, as well as some widows, widowers and children, are key Social Security beneficiaries.

Last month, the Senior Citizens League projected a 2.7% COLA increase for 2026, which would hike average monthly payments for retirees by $54, to $2,062.

More than 72.5 million Social Security beneficiaries received a 2.5% COLA increase this year.

While some BLS staffers are returning to aid the CPI’s release, there will likely still be a delay in next month’s report, since data collection is suspended during the shutdown.

In a contingency plan published last month, the Labor Department said it expected to keep only one BLS employee – the acting commissioner – working through the pause.

William Wiatrowski is leading BLS after Trump abruptly fired Erika McEntarfer in August after a dismal adjustment to previous job reports, accusing her of manipulating the data.

He then selected EJ Antoni, a conservative economist at the Heritage Foundation, to take over the spot, but took back the nomination last month.