What Christians Need to Know about the Impact of the Government Shutdown on the Economy

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Many breathed a giant sigh of relief when the standoff over the government shutdown finally came to an end on Wednesday. The 43-day shutdown is the nation’s longest in history, and President Trump was quick to sign the Senate-passed, House-approved bill that night.

Certainly, federal workers are grateful to finally receive a paycheck for the work they’ve done. Some will receive their pay on Monday, and others on Wednesday, according to CBS News. Furloughed workers were able to start working again last week. However, while federal paychecks, SNAP, and airline schedules are on the road to recovery, the length of the shutdown may have caused problems for the economy that aren’t so easily resolved.

Economic Challenges Resulting from the Shutdown

Last week, EY Parthenon reported that the shutdown reduced the quarterly GDP growth by about 0.8 percentage points. That’s approximately a $55 billion loss in output. Every week costs the nation around $7 billion (approximately 0.1 percentage points in GDP).

In addition, government agencies that track economic indicators such as the labor market, inflation, consumer spending, housing, and trade were basically frozen during the shutdown. So, this information, which typically impacts policymaking and market decisions, won’t be available.

How Consumers are Feeling as a Result of the Shutdown

“With the federal government shutdown dragging on for over a month, consumers are now expressing worries about potential negative consequences for the economy,” Joanne Hsu, Surveys of Consumers Director at the University of Michigan, said in a survey picked up by the AP. “This month’s decline in sentiment was widespread throughout the population, seen across age, income, and political affiliation.”

“Seventy-one percent of households now expect unemployment to rise over the coming (12 months) while only nine percent expect unemployment to fall. That gives a net reading of sixty-two percent, predicting higher unemployment versus fifty-two percent last month. A huge increase which ... has historically been the prelude to an ugly outcome for jobs,” James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, told the AP.

Another Potential Shutdown in January 2026

Though the majority of the federal government is funded up to January 30, 2026, there is talk of the possibility of another shutdown at that time because democrats want to see the renewal of the Obamacare tax credits; something they couldn’t make happen this time.

“This is still a salient issue,” Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) told The Hill. “The pressure is not off the Republicans to fix this health care issue.”

“Everyone realizes, under current law, another shutdown could occur on Jan. 30,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, told The Hill.

“This [current extension] was an easy extension, but they didn't want to do it the easy way,” Trump told NPR. “They wanted to do it the hard way.”

“Today we’re sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion,” Trump told Politico on Wednesday as he signed the current bill allowing the government to reopen.

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Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Andrew Brookes

Elizabeth Delaney has been a freelance content writer for over 20 years and has enjoyed having her prose published in both the non-fiction and fiction markets. She has written various types of content, including Christian articles, healthy lifestyle, blog posts, business topics, news articles, product descriptions, and some fiction. She is also a singer-songwriter-musician. When she is not busy with writing or music, she enjoys spending time with friends or family and doing fun social activities such as hiking, swing dancing, concerts, and other activities.