WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Tuesday that U.S. central bankers would have to hunt for alternate data sources to consider at their October 16-17 policy meeting if upcoming government reports on jobs, inflation and other aspects of the economy are suspended because of a government shutdown.

The self-funded Fed would remain open even if the rest of government closes. "It pains me that we wouldn't be getting official statistics at exactly a moment when we're trying to figure out is the economy in transition," Goolsbee said on "The Claman Countdown" on Fox Business.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)