State Unemployment Report Delayed Due to Shutdown

The state's monthly unemployment report, which includes data for Riverside County and the entire inland region, will not be released as planned this week because of the partial government shutdown, officials said today.

The California Employment Development Department was scheduled to post unemployment figures for September on Friday, but with analysts at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on furlough, there's no way for the EDD to obtain up- to-date information from the national Employment Situation Report, on which the state relies for labor statistics.

"This is the first time that a federal government shutdown has delayed the release of California's monthly jobs data," according to an EDD statement. "The current shutdown has impacted California and other states, including Texas, Oregon and Virginia, by limiting access to BLS unemployment data and programs."

According to the EDD, release of the September jobs report will be rescheduled, though a date awaits an agreement in Congress on a continuing resolution to fund the government.

The partial shutdown is in its 15th day, with House Republicans and Senate Democrats still at odds over whether to enact provisions of the much- debated Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act -- better known as Obamacare -- and whether to hike the nation's debt ceiling beyond its unprecedented current level of $16.7 trillion.

—City News Service