US to publish September CPI report this month despite government shutdown

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday it would publish September’s consumer inflation report on October 24 to assist the Social Security Administration determine the annual cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.

But the collection, processing and publishing of other official economic data remained suspended until the government resumed regular operations, the BLS said. The government shut down on October 1 after funding lapsed, delaying the release of September’s closely watched employment report due last Friday.

“This release allows the Social Security Administration to meet statutory deadlines necessary to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits,” the BLS said in a statement posted on its website.

The Consumer Price Index report was originally scheduled for release on October 15. The Social Security Administration uses the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers data from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025 to determine the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for 2026.

The programs benefit older Americans who have retired as well as the disabled and certain widows, widowers and children. The COLA announcement – a widely anticipated event each October among the households relying on those payments – is typically made shortly after the September’s CPI report is released. 

In 2025, more than 72.5 million Social Security and SSI beneficiaries received a 2.5% COLA increase. 

The Senior Citizens League, one of the nation’s biggest seniors groups, last month projected a 2.7% COLA raise in 2026, which would lift the average monthly benefit for retirees by $54 to $2,062 from $2,008.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Katharine Jackson; editing by Susan Heavey and Alistair Bell)