As official data stalls, real-time job ads reveal a cooling labor market with rising demand for AI skills
Dr. Chris Chmura
With the federal government shut down since October 1, 2025, crucial data releases have been delayed, which businesses and policymakers rely on to assess growth strategies and workforce needs. In addition, since the 2020 pandemic, response rates for surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) have been in decline, leading to large data revisions and hurting public confidence in the monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates.