Economics

U.S. Labor Department to End Economic-Data Lockups Permanently

  • Government had suspended briefings because of virus pandemic
  • Releases without lockups have gone smoothly, department says
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington.Photographer: Bill Clark/Getty Images
Lock
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The U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday it will permanently end the practice of giving news media early looks at market-moving economic data, after suspending the pre-briefings during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Continuing security, resource, and equity concerns” outweigh “any benefits of the press lockup process,” Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner William Beach said in a letter to news organizations.