U.S. Budget Deficit Widened 454% in March as Latest Stimulus Money Flowed
April 12 2021 - 2:29PM
Dow Jones News
By John McCormick
The U.S. federal budget deficit widened 454% in March from a
year earlier, as the government issued a third round of stimulus
checks to help Americans ride out the economic fallout from the
Covid-19 pandemic.
The budget gap rose to $660 billion in March, the Treasury
Department said Monday, from $119 billion in the same month last
year. Revenue rose 13% to $268 billion in March, while spending
increased 161% to $927 billion.
The government's spending surge has provided some cushion to the
economy from the pandemic's devastation, but it has also sent
deficits soaring to levels not seen since the end of World War II
as a proportion of the economy. Weaker tax revenue has contributed
to the shortfall.
For the first six months of fiscal 2021, the deficit widened
130% to a record $1.7 trillion. Outlays from October through March
rose to $3.4 trillion, an increase of 45%. Receipts rose 6% to $1.7
trillion.
Write to John McCormick at mccormick.john@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 12, 2021 14:14 ET (18:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.