The federal budget in January ran a monthly surplus for the first time since September 2019, as the government took in more in tax and other revenue and spent less on pandemic aid programs.
The surplus last month reached $119 billion, the Treasury Department reported Thursday. Government receipts for the month rose by 21% from a year earlier to $465 billion, not adjusting for calendar differences. Federal spending, meanwhile, fell in January by 37% to $346 billion.
