Economics
U.S. Budget Deficit Tops $1 Trillion This Year, Before Stimulus
- February gap widens to $310.9 billion from $235.3 billion
- Relief package could push deficit beyond prior year’s total
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The U.S. budget deficit surpassed $1 trillion for the first five months of the fiscal year, reflecting government efforts to cushion the economy from the coronavirus even before a massive stimulus package deepens the shortfall.
The gap for February was $310.9 billion, up from $235.3 billion in February 2020, according to a Treasury Department report Wednesday. That pushed the deficit to $1.05 trillion, a record for the first five months of the fiscal year that began in October, compared with $624.5 billion a year earlier, before the coronavirus struck.