Federal government staffing shortages, caused by the Trump administration’s hiring freeze, have led the Labor Department’s economic statistics arm to reduce the breadth of its data collection for a key measure of US inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began in April to decrease the number of businesses at which it checks prices for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. This decision was due to the hiring freeze imposed by President Trump on his first day in office. According to a BLS email, “The CPI temporarily reduced the number of outlets and quotes it attempted to collect due to a staffing shortage in certain CPI cities.” Private economists express concern that these cutbacks may already be affecting the quality of the data. The CPI is crucial for economists, investors, and policymakers to estimate inflation accurately. If the quality of these statistics degrades, it could worsen future economic outcomes. — new from New York Post