RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
NPR's business news begins with no new jobs report.
The Labor Department says it's not releasing the September employment report today as scheduled. The jobs report is almost always released on the first Friday of the month. Not this time. That's thanks to the shutdown, which is in its fourth day.
The monthly report includes the unemployment rate and the number of jobs employers added. It's one of the most influential monthly economic indicators in the world. This could lead to choppy markets as traders look for other clues about the state of the U.S. economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that releases the report, is down to just three, three employees, from its usual 2,400 while the shutdown is in effect. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.