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US budget deficit hits record $3 trillion through 11 months

In this April 29, 2020 file photo, a man wearing a mask to protect against coronavirus, waits to cross the street as a digital sign displays groups of people walking above another sign displaying the size of the national debt along an empty K Street in Washington. The U.S. budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3 trillion for the first 11 months of this budget year, the Treasury Department said Friday, Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
In this April 29, 2020 file photo, a man wearing a mask to protect against coronavirus, waits to cross the street as a digital sign displays groups of people walking above another sign displaying the size of the national debt along an empty K Street in Washington. The U.S. budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3 trillion for the first 11 months of this budget year, the Treasury Department said Friday, Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) In this April 29, 2020 file photo, a man wearing a mask to protect against coronavirus, waits to cross the street as a digital sign displays groups of people walking above another sign displaying the size of the national debt along an empty K Street in Washington. The U.S. budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3 trillion for the first 11 months of this budget year, the Treasury Department said Friday, Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER / Associated Press 3 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3 trillion for the first 11 months of this budget year, the Treasury Department said Friday.

The ocean of red ink is a product of the government’s massive spending to try to cushion the impact of a coronavirus-fueled recession that has cost millions of jobs.

The deficit from October through August is more than double the previous 11-month record of $1.37 billion set in 2009. At that time the government was spending large sums to get out of the Great Recession triggered by the 2008 financial crisis.

With one month to go in the 2020 budget year, which ends Sept. 30, the deficit could go even higher. The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting the deficit this year will hit a record $3.3 trillion. However, the government often runs surpluses in September so it is possible the final figure for this year could come in just under $3 trillion.

That would still put the deficit well above last year’s imbalance of $984 billion. The previous record deficit for a fiscal year was $1.4 trillion in 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis.