US budget deficit surges to $134.5 billion in October
Posted Nov 13, 2019 03:03:12 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON — The federal government began the new budget year with a deficit in October 33.8% larger than a year earlier.
That was after ending the 2019 budget year with the highest deficit in seven years.
The Treasury Department says the deficit last month totalled $134.5 billion, up from a shortfall in October 2018 of $100.5 billion.
The government ran up a deficit of $984.4 billion for the 2019 budget year, which ended Sept. 30, 26% larger than in 2018.
The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for 2020 will hit $1 trillion and will remain over $1 trillion for the next decade. The country has not experienced $1 trillion annual deficits since 2009 through 2012 following the 2008 financial crisis.
Martin Crutsinger, The Associated Press
