(CNN) — The US government recorded a monthly budget deficit of $88 billion in October, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.
That’s 47% lower than the October 2021 deficit of $165 billion and just below economists’ expectations of $90 billion, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv.
During October, which is the first month for the government’s 2023 fiscal year, unadjusted spending dropped 9% to $406 billion and revenues increased 12% to $319 billion.
When adjusting for calendar-related differences — notably $62 billion in federal benefit payments moved up to September because October 1 landed on a Saturday — the October deficit totaled $149 billion. That figure is a $7 billion improvement from the adjusted $157 billion deficit in October 2021, Treasury data shows.
“When comparing apples to apples, the deficits are just a tiny bit lower [than last year],” said Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a deficit watchdog. “We need to do a lot better than that.”
During fiscal year 2022, the US budget deficit was slashed in half, falling to under $1.4 trillion, amid a winding down of pandemic-related spending and a jump in revenue from the surging economic recovery.
While the shortfall was the smallest in three years, it remains historically high. In the 2019 fiscal year, the deficit totaled $980 billion.
America’s debt levels are remaining elevated at a time of historically high inflation and when interest rates are quickly ratcheting higher — making that borrowing even more expensive, he said, noting that interest payments were $43 billion in October, up from $30 billion a year before.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg, because interest rates are continuing to climb,” he said.
This story was first published on CNN.com “The US monthly budget deficit dropped to $88 billion in October, down 47% for the year.”
