Federal budget deficit jumps to $136.7 billion in November
WASHINGTON — The federal government’s deficit jumped sharply in November but for the first two months of the budget year is running 10 per cent lower than a year ago.
The Treasury Department said Monday that the deficit for November totalled $136.7 billion, compared to a deficit of $44.2 billion in October.
For the first two months of the new 2017 budget year, the deficit totals $180.8 billion, 10 per cent below the same period a year ago. However, that improvement mainly reflects calendar quirks that moved benefit payments from October back into September, the final month of the 2016 budget year.
The deficit for all of 2016 totalled $587.3 billion, a 34 per cent spike from the previous year. And the Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit will worsen further this year.