Hurricane Sandy could delay October jobs report

WASHINGTON — Hurricane Sandy could complicate Friday's release of the October jobs report, the final snapshot of employment before the presidential election.

U.S. Labor Department officials are still hopeful that they can release the report as scheduled. But they acknowledged that the storm could cause a delay.

“Our intention is that Friday will be business as usual regarding the October employment ... report,” says Jennifer Kaplan, a department spokeswoman.

Preparation for the jobs report typically ramps up in the week of the release. The federal government was closed Monday. Final calculations could be delayed if the government stays closed because of the storm.

Tom Nardone, who oversees the preparation of the report, said some advance work was done Friday and some employees were able to work on the report Monday.