U.S. Budget Deficit Falls in October

The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that the U.S. budget deficit fell substantially in October, the first month of the new fiscal year. The government still maintained a $91.6 billion deficit for the month, but that marked a 24 percent decline from October 2012. The improved numbers are due, in part, to the partial government shutdown and steep federal spending cuts, according to the Associated Press. Brightening employment numbers, Bloomberg reports, also helped by contributing to the strongest October revenues to date. The narrowing deficit kicking off the new fiscal year comes on the heels of the lowest annual deficit in five years in 2013. Last year’s annual deficit was still the fifth-largest in history, according to the AP, and the improved figures are “not expected to take much pressure off of lawmakers, who are facing an informal Dec. 13 deadline to reach a deal to fund government and avoid another shutdown.”