"They actually did it. A group of Republicans in the House just forced a government shutdown over Obamacare instead of passing a real budget."
- Barack Obama, U.S. President
The U.S. government has begun a partial shutdown for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting 800,000 federal employees out of work with no guarantee of back pay once the stalemate is over, and halting some government services as the Republican-led House of Representatives declined to approve a budget for the upcoming year. As a result, the Labor Department is expected not to release the closely watched U.S. monthly jobs data on Friday, as there will not be enough employees to compile one of the most influential economic reports in the world, which can heavily affect the global financial markets.
Possibility of a last-minute deal, which was quite often in past fiscal fights, vanished shortly before the midnight as the House took a firm stand on its call to postpone major parts of U.S. President Barack Obama's health-care law for a year, while Senate Democrats were equally uncompromising. No further talks were immediately planned, fuelling concerns among some lawmakers that the shutdown could turn into a more consequential fight on how to raise the U.S. debt ceiling to avoid a first-ever default after 17 October. It is estimated that a partial federal government shutdown would cost the country at least $300 million a day; however, analysts believe that serious damage to the economy is unlikely unless the shutdown lasts for more than a few days.
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