The federal deficit jumped to $137 billion in November, the Treasury reported Monday, a major increase over November 2015.
Through the first two months of fiscal 2017, the federal government has run a $180 billion shortfall, about $20 billion less than at the same point in 2016.
That improvement, however, is attributable to the fact that Oct. 1, the start of the current fiscal year, fell on a weekend. Because of that, some federal payments were brought forward into the week, meaning that they fell in fiscal 2016 instead of fiscal 2017.
As a result, the deficit for this year is projected to come in at just under $600 billion, up slightly from $587 billion in the 2016 year.
To start 2017, revenues are up 1 percent. Spending is down 3 percent, thanks to the shift in the timing of payments, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Part of the increase in tax revenues was a 5 percent surge in payroll taxes withheld, a sign of a strengthening jobs market.
Spending increased on retirement and healthcare programs, but dropped for the postal service and student loans.
Over the longer term, the government faces a significant fiscal challenge. The budget office projects that the deficit will decrease in fiscal 2018 because of another timing shift, but will climb in subsequent years, reaching $1 trillion in 2024. By 2026, the federal debt is supposed to hit about 86 percent of total economic output, up from 77 percent currently.
