Economic security

Government shutdown cost US economy $11bn

The 35-day partial shutdown of the US government cost about $11bn and shaved 0.2% off the nation’s annual economic growth forecasts, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Monday.

The shutdown triggered by a fight over funding for Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico ended on Friday and was the longest in US history.

According to the CBO, the shutdown hurt economic growth because it affected roughly 800,000 workers and delayed federal spending on goods and services.

Much of the money will be recouped now the government is open again but the CBO calculates $3bn will never be recovered and the full impact of the closure – which left hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors without pay – may be larger.

The CBO warned “all of the estimated effects and their timing are subject to considerable uncertainty”.

End of shutdown: workers left with debts, bad credit and shattered trust

 

Read more

The five-week shutdown delayed approximately $18bn in federal discretionary spending for compensation and purchases of goods and services and suspended some federal services.