Economists encountered a significant hurdle on Thursday when they found themselves unable to access crucial data from the U.S. Census Bureau's main website. While some managed to retrieve the information through alternative methods, many databases, including those on voter demographics, population changes, and small businesses, remained inaccessible to the public. The outage has sparked concerns about the implications for decision-making across government and business sectors.
Several economists, including data experts from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, reported receiving error messages while attempting to download files that are typically available. These users were met with a "forbidden" message, preventing access to common datasets. Michael Horrigan, president of the institute, expressed disbelief at the situation.
"It suggests that there may be internal pressures not to publish data that we rely on, and we need to figure out if that's true," – Michael Horrigan
The inaccessibility of the data did not go unnoticed by Maurine Haver, founder of Haver Analytics. Her team attempted to access numerous economic releases through Census.gov but found themselves blocked. Despite the website's availability earlier in the day, the issue persisted throughout Thursday afternoon.
Erica Groshen, former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, underscored the importance of Census data for informed decision-making.
"Monetary policy, fiscal policy and investment decisions will all be worse when data quality declines, or reports are delayed or absent," – Erica Groshen
Despite repeated attempts to resolve the issue, the Census Bureau did not respond to CNBC's request for comment. This lack of communication has only added to concerns about potential underlying reasons for the data outage. The incident follows a recent disruption where several government webpages briefly went dark following a White House order to remove language concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The situation has fueled speculation about changes around information and communication under President Donald Trump’s administration. Data experts are keenly observing whether internal pressures might be influencing the availability of data.