One month into a US government shutdown – how it’s going so far

The US authorities shutdown, which began connected October 1 erstwhile Democrats and Republicans failed to hold connected a backing bill, has present passed 1 month. Americans are progressively facing delays and interruptions to their mundane lives.

Around 730,000 national employees (32 percent of the national workforce) person been moving without pay, according to information from the Bipartisan Policy Center, portion 670,000 person been furloughed – sent location without wage – due to the fact that authorities departments can’t legally wage them. That fig volition spell up arsenic the shutdown drags connected and authorities departments tally retired of money.

The shutdown has led to the disruption to oregon adjacent afloat cessation of a fig of services, including indispensable nutrient assistance.

How agelong has the shutdown been going on?

In the lead-up to the shutdown successful October, US President Donald Trump threatened to prosecute wide national layoffs aft Democrats refused to o.k. a Republican-backed spending measure without cardinal amendments that would reconstruct backing for nationalist wellness programmes.

Neither broadside backed down, resulting successful the shutdown, which is present the second-longest successful US history.

It has been uncommon for authorities shutdowns successful the past to past for longer than a fewer days, but they bash hap sometimes.

The last shutdown was during Trump’s archetypal word arsenic US president. Albeit lone a partial shutdown, it was the longest successful US history, lasting 35 days from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019. It was sparked by a enactment implicit the gathering of a wall on the borderline with Mexico and ended lone erstwhile Trump announced a tentative woody with legislature leaders to reopen the authorities for 3 weeks portion negotiations continued.

Since 1976, erstwhile the existent process for mounting and approving authorities budgets was established,  the authorities has experienced 20 backing gaps, resulting successful 10 shutdowns.

(Al Jazeera)

What happens during a shutdown, and which services are affected?

During a authorities shutdown, non-essential national services specified arsenic nationalist parks and museums, oregon regulatory agencies, are halted oregon reduced, and galore authorities employees are furloughed – placed connected unpaid leave.

Essential unit – specified arsenic subject work members, instrumentality enforcement officers, aerial postulation controllers, and agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – are required to support working, often without pay, until backing is restored.

A motion indicates that the US Capitol Visitor Center is closed owed to the authorities shutdown, connected October 1, 2025 successful Washington, DC. Congress could not hold connected a fund to money the authorities astatine midnight, causing the archetypal shutdown since 2018 [Drago/Getty Images]

How galore radical enactment for the national government?

More than 2 cardinal radical are employed by the national authorities crossed the US.

Just implicit 7 percent (162,489) of each national workers are based successful Washington, DC, followed by 6.7 percent (150,679) successful California, 6.5 percent (147,358) successful Virginia, 6.4 percent (144,497) successful Maryland and 5.8 percent (130,686) successful Texas.

The locations of 276,235 employees are not publically available.

How galore are furloughed oregon moving without pay?

According to the latest estimates from the Bipartisan Policy Center, immoderate 730,000 national employees are moving without pay, portion astir 670,000 person been furloughed.

At the Department of Veterans Affairs, 97 percent of 462,000 unit are inactive performing their duties. Most are being paid arsenic astir of the department’s backing does not travel from yearly appropriations – Congress-approved budgets.

About 95 percent of the Department of Homeland Security’s 271,000 employees are inactive moving – astir without wage – including Secret Service agents, migration and borderline power officers, airdrome security, Coast Guard workers and exigency workers successful catastrophe relief.

Some 90 percent of the Department of Justice’s 115,000 employees are inactive moving – mostly without wage – including instrumentality enforcement, FBI agents, transgression prosecutors and situation guards.

Members of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) locomotion on the National Mall, weeks into the continuing US authorities shutdown, successful Washington, DC, the US, October 27, 2025 [Kylie Cooper/Reuters]

Conversely, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has 91 percent of its 4,300 employees furloughed. Only those progressive successful monitoring markets and handling urgent fraud issues proceed to work.

About 89 percent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 15,000 workers person been furloughed. Security guards, transgression investigators and exigency effect workers proceed to work.

About 87 percent of the Department of Education’s 2,450 authorities unit person been furloughed. Those inactive moving see workers distributing pupil assistance and grants to schools.

What is the interaction connected national programmes?

Come November 1, immoderate indispensable authorities programmes volition suffer backing altogether.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said connected October 10 that it would person “insufficient funds” to wage nutrient benefits by the extremity of this month.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – overseen by the USDA – will tally retired of funds by the extremity of this week. More than 42 cardinal Americans trust connected nutrient assistance.

A antheral holds a motion speechmaking ‘SNAP Feeds Families’, arsenic nutrient assistance benefits are expected to beryllium suspended from November 1 amid the ongoing US authorities shutdown, during ‘A Rally for SNAP’ connected the steps of the Massachusetts State House successful Boston, Massachusetts, the US, October 28, 2025 [Brian Snyder/Reuters]

SNAP does person entree to a $5bn contingency fund, which mightiness prolong benefits for a fewer weeks – SNAP costs the national authorities $99.8bn each year, oregon astir $8.3bn per month. But, according to Reuters, the USDA volition not usage these for assistance that is acceptable to lapse successful November.

The Trump medication has said it volition not usage exigency funds to prop up the programme.

Also facing a deficiency of backing is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides food, breastfeeding enactment and acquisition to much than six cardinal large women, young mothers and children.

What volition the economical interaction be?

The interaction of a shutdown connected the system is usually impermanent and not far-reaching. Furloughed and unpaid workers’ wage is mostly backdated erstwhile a shutdown ends and backing is released.

However, that doesn’t mean it has nary impact. Contracted workers thin to beryllium worse affected than others, arsenic these workers volition lone person backmost wage if their contracting employers are capable to supply it.

The Trump medication has besides threatened not to supply backmost wage oregon to occurrence workers altogether, meaning this clip around, the shutdown could impact the system more.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the partial shutdown successful 2018-19 reduced gross home merchandise (GDP) maturation by astir 0.1 percent successful the 4th fourth of 2018 ($3bn) and by astir 0.2 percent successful the archetypal 4th of 2019 ($8bn). This was chiefly owed to the nonaccomplishment of furloughed workers’ wage and delayed spending connected goods and services.

About $3bn of these losses were not expected to beryllium recovered, truthful GDP successful 2019 was estimated to beryllium 0.02 percent little than it would different person been.

This clip around, analysts estimation that the shutdown volition shave 0.1-0.2 percent points disconnected GDP for each week that it carries on, which equates to astir $15bn a week.

In a JPMorgan briefing note, economist Michael Feroli wrote: “The interaction could beryllium worse this clip owed to the threatened layoffs and existent occupation loss, which could make risks for the labour marketplace and consumer spending.”

Without the merchandise of economical data, which has been delayed by the shutdown, and with the continuation of the shutdown itself, the afloat interaction remains unclear.