The Treasury building in Washington.
Photo: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg News
The U.S. budget deficit reached $2.8 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, below the record set the previous year, as government spending tied to the coronavirus pandemic was partly offset by surging revenues.
In reporting the figures Friday, the Treasury Department and Office of Management and Budget said outlays for the fiscal year still rose 4% from the previous year.
The prior fiscal year’s $3.1 trillion deficit was the largest on record in nominal dollars and the largest as a share of the economy since World War II.
Spending in the most recent fiscal year was boosted by pandemic-related costs that included monthly child tax credits, expanded unemployment compensation, emergency small-business loans and stimulus checks to households.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called the new data “further evidence that America’s economy is in the midst of a recovery.”
Write to John McCormick at [email protected]
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