Missing ‘Gold Standard’ Economic Data Will Test Alternatives in US Shutdown
- Third-party economic stats will offer government alternatives
- Some private-sector figures already inform Fed decisions
WATCH: Shutdown In Search of a Reason
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The imminent US government shutdown that threatens to delay the publication of key economic data will test policymakers’ and investors’ trust in a range of less-regarded third-party indicators.
Without critical figures like the Labor Department’s monthly employment report and a key inflation gauge from the Commerce Department, data from private-sector sources will take the spotlight. New trackers of job openings and economic activity have emerged in recent years, and well-established ones have reinvented themselves to better answer ongoing questions in the economy.