Shutdown results in loss of 1.2 lakh jobs in US

The recent Government Shutdown and debt default crisis hit the US economy with a loss of 120,000 jobs and wiped out 0.25 per cent of economic growth for the fourth quarter, said the White House. The government was shut down for 16 days and reopened on 17th October amid a budget dispute in Washington that injected uncertainty into financial markets. The shutdown came at a steep cost, as Standard and Poor's estimated the US economy lost up to US $ 24 billion. The new estimates come as the Labour Department said the US added 148,000 jobs in September, fewer than expected, suggesting that the labour market stumbled heading into the latest budget battles in Washington. Government Shut-Down: The Government Shut Down refers to a temporary halt in non-essential government services when lawmakers cannot pass the necessary funding measures in time. So far, in the US, the federal government was shut down twice. Once in 1995-96 and again in October 2013. Between 1976 and 2013, there have been 18 government shutdowns across the world. Standard and Poor's: Standard & Poor's (S&P) is an American financial services company, with head office on 55 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is a division of McGraw Hill Financial that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. S&P is known for its stock market indices such as the U.S.-based S&P 500, the Canadian S&P/TSX, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, and India's S&P CNX Nifty. S&P is considered one of the Big Three credit-rating agencies, which also include Moody's Investor Service and Fitch Ratings.

What: loss of 1.2 lakh jobs in US How: Government Shutdown in October