Economic Calendar: These Critical Government Data Reports Are Still Missing After the Shutdown

Government data blackout leaves markets flying blind.

Key Reports in Limbo

The shutdown slammed the brakes on the economic data pipeline. No inflation prints, no jobs numbers, no retail sales figures—just a void where market-moving intel used to be. Traders are left parsing corporate earnings and decentralized finance metrics for clues, a classic case of the private sector scrambling to fill a public information vacuum.

Decentralized Data Fills the Gap

While traditional reports gather dust, real-time on-chain data and protocol analytics don't shut down. They keep flowing, offering a raw, unfiltered pulse on asset movement and capital allocation. It's a stark contrast to the centralized model's fragility—one political impasse and the whole system goes dark.

Transparency Isn't Optional

Markets hate uncertainty more than they hate bad news. This data drought forces a reliance on lagging indicators and sentiment, turning informed strategy into educated guesswork. It's a blunt reminder that in finance, opacity is a tax on everyone—except maybe the high-frequency traders with the fastest data feeds money can buy.

Key Takeaways

• The federal government shutdown froze economic data releases, and agencies are still working to catch up. 
• While a handful of reports have been rescheduled, some have also been consolidated or canceled.

The government shutdown ended in November, but statistical agencies are working to catch up on economic releases they missed.

After being closed for 43 days, the federal bureaus that track inflation, employment, and economic growth are behind schedule on several reports, but they are beginning to catch up.

Why This Matters

Delayed economic reports can blur the outlook for inflation, jobs, and growth, complicating decisions for investors, businesses, and policymakers. Understanding the new schedule helps readers interpret upcoming market-moving data.

Here are some of the new release dates and schedule changes announced so far:

• Jan. 8: October U.S. trade deficit (Originally scheduled for a December release)
• Jan. 9: September, October housing starts (September report originally scheduled for Oct. 17 release)
• Jan. 13: New home sales (October, September) ( September report originally scheduled for Oct. 24 release)
• Jan. 14: October business inventories (Originally scheduled for a December release)
• Jan 14: November retail sales (Originally scheduled for December release)
• Jan. 14: November Producer Price Index (PPI), with a subset of the October report (Originally scheduled for Dec. 11 release; a separate October report won't be released)
• Jan. 15: November U.S. import and export price indexes, with a subset of the October report (Originally scheduled for Dec. 16 release; a separate October report won't be released)
• Jan. 22: Q3 Gross Domestic Product, final update (Originally scheduled for Dec. 19 release)
• Jan. 26: November durable-goods orders (Originally scheduled for December release)
• Jan. 30: December PPI (Originally scheduled for Jan. 14 release)
• Feb. 10: Q4 Employment cost index (Originally scheduled for Jan. 30 release)
• Feb. 10: December U.S. import and export price indexes (Originally scheduled for Jan. 30 release)

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Here are some reports that still need to be rescheduled or have been cancelled:

• September, October and November advanced reports on trade deficit, wholesale inventories and retail inventories have been canceled
• October PCE price index, personal incomes and outlays (Originally scheduled for Nov. 26; the November report is also not yet rescheduled)
• November housing starts (Originally scheduled for December release)
• Q4 GDP, advance estimate (Originally scheduled for a Jan. 29 release)