WASHINGTON -- The Labor Department has cut back on the inflation data it collects because of the Trump administration's government hiring freeze, raising concerns among economists about the quality of the inflation figures just as they are being closely watched for the impact of tariffs.

The department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which produces the monthly consumer price index, the most closely watched inflation measure, said Wednesday that it is "reducing sample in areas across the country" and stopped collecting price data entirely in April in Lincoln, Neb., and Provo, Utah. It also said it has stopped collecting data this month in Buffalo, N.Y.

In an email that the bureau sent to economists, viewed by The Associated Press, the agency said it "temporarily reduced the number of outlet

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