WASHINGTON — The Labor Department cut back on the inflation data it collects because of the Trump administration's government hiring freeze, raising concerns among economists about the quality of the inflation figures just as they are being closely watched for the impact of tariffs.

The department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which produces the monthly consumer price index, the most closely watched inflation measure, said Wednesday it is "reducing sample in areas across the country" and stopped collecting price data entirely in April in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Provo, Utah. It also said it stopped collecting data this month in Buffalo, New York.

In an email the BLS sent to economists, viewed by The Associated Press, the agency said that it "temporarily reduced the number of outlets and qu

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