U.S. Government Shutdown Cost Economy at Least $18B, CBO Reports

The U.S. federal government shutdown has cost the economy at least $18 billion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The shutdown has reduced fourth-quarter GDP by at least one percentage point, with losses expected to increase in coming weeks. If the shutdown lasts six weeks through mid-November, real GDP growth could fall by 1.5 percentage points, or $28 billion. A halt of about eight weeks, extending to near Thanksgiving, would reduce real GDP by two percentage points, equivalent to $39 billion, the agency projected.