Fed's Powell points to persistent labor market weakness as government shutdown delays official reports

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday said that the economy continues to see a softening of the labor market despite the government shutdown delaying the release of official jobs and inflation data.Powell spoke at the National Association of Business Economists (NABE) after receiving the Adam Smith Award for his work on applying economic principles in policy. The Fed chair said while the September jobs report and inflation data, available data suggests that the sluggish labor market and tariff-induced inflationary pressures are persisting."While the unemployment rate remained low thro