WASHINGTON -- Hurricane Sandy could complicate Friday's release
of the October U.S. jobs report, the final snapshot of employment before
the presidential election.
Labor Department officials are still
hopeful that they can release the report as scheduled at 8:30 a.m.
Friday. But they acknowledged Monday that the storm could cause a delay.
"Our intention is that Friday will be business as
usual regarding the October employment . . . report," said Jennifer
Kaplan, a department spokeswoman.
Preparation for the jobs report
typically ramps up in the week of the release. The federal government
was closed Monday and final calculations could be delayed if the
government stays shuttered because of the storm.
Tom Nardone, who
oversees the preparation of the report, said some advance work was done
Friday. And some employees were able to work remotely on the report
Monday.
The report is scheduled to be released four days before Election Day.
The
unemployment rate fell in September to 7.8%. That marked the first time
that the rate had dropped below 8% since January 2009 - President
Obama's first month in office.