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Data delayed by America’s government shutdown are still trickling out. Next up are the personal income and outlays figures for September, which will be published on Friday. The release includes spending data as well as the personal-consumption-expenditures inflation measure, which is the Federal Reserve’s formal target.

The numbers may help solve two puzzles about the American economy. One is why gdp growth and spending are strong while the labour market is weakening. Retail sales in September were lower than expected; if overall spending is also soft, that might suggest a broader slowdown.

Meanwhile, pce inflation will show how hard it will be for the Federal Reserve to balance sustaining employment and keeping prices stable. But even this new data will hardly be that fresh: September is now a while back. America’s economy-watchers will be looking at dated data for a while longer.