Government shutdown halts data, stokes risk as economy wobbles, experts say

The government shutdown halted the release of key economic data, choking off the flow of information as some experts warn the economy may be slipping toward a recession, some economists told ABC News. A federal agency postponed the release of a monthly jobs report on Friday, leaving observers in the dark about the status of a sharp hiring slowdown . If the government shutdown stretches into next week, fresh inflation figures will go unreported, masking price levels in the midst of rising costs. Jim Reid, a research strategist at Deutsche Bank, in a memo to clients on Monday, lamented the "data vacuum." The absence of government data heightens uncertainty at a fraught moment for the U.S. economy, potentially hamstringing responses from consumers, businesses and policymakers, some economists