Labor Department Cancels Release of Much-Anticipated October Jobs Report

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14. Bond Market Wagers on Fed Rate Cut Crumble on Jobs Data Void -- the Fed will be without a lot of data it was

expecting to see before their December 10 rate-setting meeting

Bloomberg, 11/19/25 152 PM CST
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/traders-slash-bets-december-cut-190941316.html

Bond traders all but scrapped their bets on a December interest-rate cut after the government canceled the publication of the October employment report, leaving Federal Reserve officials without a key piece of economic data before their final meeting of the year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday that some October jobs data would be rolled into a report to be published after the Fed’s December decision. The announcement prompted traders to scale back expectations for a quarter-point reduction, with odds now heavily pointing to policymakers keeping the benchmark rate on hold at the 3.75% to 4% range.

. . . Market sentiment had already been shifting toward a greater likelihood of no action at the Dec. 10 meeting, as several Fed officials have urged caution about reducing borrowing costs while inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target. The updated BLS schedule leaves policymakers — and traders — lacking new evidence of labor market weakness, their justification for rate cuts in September and October.

. . . “We already knew that there wouldn’t be an October unemployment rate but the news that the November data will not get published until after the Fed meeting should be a disappointment for the market,” said Leah Traub, a portfolio manager at Lord Abbett & Co. “This reduces the probability of a cut given the divided FOMC.”

Next Fed rate meeting: Dec 10

So, until today's announcement it was expected we would see both the October payroll jobs numbers and November payroll job numbers on December 5 -- the first Friday of December. (Or sometime before then in the case of the October payroll jobs numbers)

Now we are told that both those will be released December 16 -- AFTER the Fed meeting.

It's long been known we would never see the October unemployment rate number.

It had been expected we would see the November unemployment rate number on December 5. Now it's scheduled for December 16. And by now you guessed it, AFTER the Fed meeting.