An imminent U.S. government shutdown that threatens to delay the publication of key economic data is set to 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 about the economy.
Some of these indicators — including gauges of business activity from the Institute for Supply Management, private payrolls from ADP Research Institute and existing-home sales from the National Association of Realtors — have informed Federal Reserve officials in their quest to tame the worst inflation in a generation. Others do so indirectly by feeding into government reports.