Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

A year after the shutdown, federal contractors still digging out of a financial hole

Jan 24, 2020
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has had lasting effects for workers.
Government workers protest the shutdown on Jan. 10, 2019, in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

How much do government shutdowns really cost?

Sep 27, 2019
Many indirect costs are not counted in official estimates.
Protesters hold signs during a protest rally by government workers and concerned citizens against the government shutdown on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019 at Post Office Square near the Federal building, headquarters for the EPA and IRS in Boston. The rally was organized by The American Federation of Government Employees. New England has 516 EPA employees that is now down to a staff of 22.
JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP/Getty Images

Federal workers owed back pay set to receive it this week

Jan 29, 2019
Government agencies responsible for payroll worked over the weekend to start issuing missed paychecks.

The shutdown cost the U.S. economy $3 billion, Congressional Budget Office says

Jan 28, 2019
"We think we'll be down about $3 billion of GDP," CBO Director Keith Hall says.
Congressional Budget Office Director Keith Hall testifies before the Senate Budget Committee on Jan. 24, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Tax season expected to be full of unknowns

Jan 28, 2019
The IRS started processing taxes on Monday, the first full work day for IRS workers after a temporary measure halted the government shutdown.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service building is seen on the first work day for furloughed federal workers following a 35-day partial government shutdown in Washington, D.C., Jan. 28, 2019.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

The lasting effects of a record-breaking government shutdown

Jan 25, 2019
The experience has left local leaders re-examining their relationship with the government.
Mayors and U.S. Representatives in Washington, D.C., wait to speak during a press conference calling on President Donald Trump and Congress to end the shutdown on Jan. 24, 2019.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Some facts about the finances of furloughed federal workers

Jan 24, 2019
As the partial government shutdown is about to enter its 35th day, here are a few facts about the hundreds of thousands of affected federal workers: The median income of a furloughed federal worker is about $67,000 a year, according to Sentier Research About 75 percent of those workers are working paycheck-to-paycheck, according to John Challenger […]

For public good, not for profit.

Federal shutdown imperils public transport nationwide

Jan 24, 2019
While the D.C. Metro is losing revenue, public transit systems across the country aren't getting federal funding.
 
Amid the ongoing government shutdown, the Washington, D.C. Metro says it’s losing $400,000 per day in revenue.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

The shutdown will impact GDP, but individual workers will bear the brunt

Jan 24, 2019
The White House has estimated that the partial government shutdown will reduce economic growth in the U.S. by 0.13 percentage points for every week the government remains closed. Speaking on CNBC yesterday, Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said those effects would be temporary. “We will get it all back,” he said, once […]
Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, arrives outside the White House to speak with reporters in December.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images