Business Standard

US budget deficit hits $2.77 trillion in 2021, the second highest

The deficits in both years reflect trillions of dollars in government spending to counteract the devastating effects of a global pandemic

Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden

AP Washington

The U.S. budget deficit totaled USD2.77 trillion for 2021, the second highest on record but an improvement from the all-time high of USD3.13 trillion reached in 2020. The deficits in both years reflect trillions of dollars in government spending to counteract the devastating effects of a global pandemic.

The Biden administration said Friday that the 2021 deficit, for the budget year that ended Sept. 30 was USD360 billion lower than 2020 as a recovering economy boosted revenues, helping to offset government spending from pandemic relief efforts.

Before the pandemic deficits of the past two years, the biggest deficit the federal government recorded was a shortfall of USD1.4 trillion in 2009 during the Obama administration as the government spent heavily to lift the country out of a severe recession following the 2008 financial crisis.

 

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Oct 22 2021 | 9:29 PM IST

Explore News