US inflation data collection hurt by Trump-era hiring freeze, WSJ says

The paper said the Bureau of Labor Statistics beginning in April reduced the number of businesses at which it checks prices for the benchmark Consumer Price Index report, citing the hiring freeze that President Donald Trump imposed on his first day back in office, January 20. “The CPI temporarily reduced the number of outlets and quotes it attempted to collect due to a staffing shortage in certain CPI cities,” beginning in April, a BLS email to private economists and shared with the Journal read.