Political | Process

A recent report from the Census Bureau showed that more than 14 million Americans did not work at some point between Dec. 29 and Jan. 10 due to Covid-19 or related impacts.

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• The White House on Friday warned that the omicron-fueled spike in Covid-19 cases in early January could skew the data in next week’s jobs report, as millions of Americans left work due to illness or to care for family members.

• Brian Deese, President Joe Biden’s top economic advisor, told CNBC on Friday that the way the Labor Department collects employment data may have a pronounced effect on the January 2022 data and could show a greater number of unemployed people.

• “The way that the government samples the data is to take a snapshot in an individual week,” Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, said an interview on “Closing Bell.”

• “And if somebody is out sick for that week even if they have not been laid off, if they weren’t paid getting paid sick leave they will not be counted as employed,” he added. Americans “need to be prepared for January employment data that could look a little strange.”

• Deese’s comments underscored the uncertainty about this month’s employment picture. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting a gain of about 200,000 jobs for January, although some analysts on Wall Street are expecting a loss.

• The White House does not get access to sensitive economic data, including the monthly jobs report, until the day before it’s released. The data is provided to the Council of Economic Advisers, which often shares it with the president.