September jobs report delayed because of shutdown

[October 04, 2013]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Labor Department says it will not release the highly anticipated September jobs report on Friday because the government remains shuttered.

The announcement Thursday was mostly a formality. A postponement of the most critical measures of the economy's health was widely expected after the shutdown began. The report includes the unemployment rate and the net number of jobs employers added to payrolls last month. The department said no alternative release date has been set.

Economists forecast that the economy added 180,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate stayed at 7.3 percent, according to a survey by FactSet.

[Associated Press; By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER]

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