Expect Aftershocks From The Shutdown

Economists worry that lawmakers will fail to reach a debt-ceiling deal.

- Eileen Ambrose

The longest government shutdown in history is now history—but its impact on the economy may linger well into the year.

According to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, the 35-day partial shutdown that ended January 25 will ding the U.S. economy by about $3 billion. But Tony Roth, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust, says the actual damage could be two to three times higher than the CBO’s $3 billion figure. That’s because the CBO looked at only the direct costs of the shutdown, not the harder-to measure indirect costs, such as travel plans that were called off or executives who delayed or cancelled spending to maintain or expand their businesses.