The Covid-19 crisis exploded the budget deficit of the United States, which reached an unprecedented level in June, almost four times higher than the previous record, according to data published Monday by the Treasury Department. The deficit reached 864 billion dollars last month (more than 761 billion EUR), compared to 8 billion in June 2019. The month of April had already seen the deficit jump, to 738 billion dollars.
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That of June, even higher, is almost four times higher than the previous record, which had been recorded during the Great Recession in February 2009, with 234 billion dollars (206 billion EUR), said an official of the Treasure during a conference call. Since the start of the fiscal year in October, the deficit has risen to $ 2.7 trillion, compared to $ 747 billion for the same period last year. The abysmal deficit recorded by the American budget in June is mainly due to the $ 511 billion in spending related to the loan program for small and medium-sized businesses, set up to help them get through the crisis.
This amount should increase further in the coming months, since these loans will turn into grants for companies that have actually used the funds to keep their employees on the job. Another measure resulting from this gigantic recovery plan is the amount of unemployment benefit, increased by 600 dollars weekly for all beneficiaries, until July 31. The measure cost $ 80 billion in June, and $ 171 billion in total since October.
On the revenue side, they were lower than last year to the tune of nearly a billion dollars, in particular because of the deadline for paying taxes, postponed to the end of July, said a Treasury official. .
