The prolonged shutdown leaves federal workers struggling with lost pay and uncertainty

As the government shutdown enters its third week with no end in sight, furloughed federal employees are grappling with lost pay and, in some cases, soul-searching over whether to continue working for the government.

Prospects for ending the shutdown grew bleaker this week after the White House said it would continue to pay military service members during the shutdown, removing a key political pressure point that could have led to a compromise.

“Without this urgency, the shutdown will likely continue into November,” Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC, wrote in a commentary.

Government shutdown that began on October 1. If it doesn’t end soon, it could easily become the longest in history, breaking the record of 35 days set in 2018 and 2019. During the shutdown, many federal civilian employees are furloughed or working without pay, key government services are disrupted, and important economic data is not reported.

The shutdown is particularly painful for the wallets of federal employees, who often don’t get paid at least during the shutdown. An estimated 750,000 people have been furloughed and not paid, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In addition, 690,000 people are working without pay, according to a report released by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, on Tuesday.

The BPC estimates that up to 1.8 million paychecks will be missed if the shutdown continues until the end of the month. The Congressional Budget Office said furloughed workers alone would lose the equivalent of $400 million a day.

The shutdown is more stressful than previous legislative standoffs for affected workers, because President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold wages for furloughed workers and has also begun permanently laying off some of them, both unprecedented moves.

“It’s a little terrifying,” said John McCormack, a division deputy chief at the Federal Communications Commission, based in Alexandria, Virginia. “It’s real people’s lives. I fear and feel for my friends and the people I know.”

At the heart of the shutdown is a dispute over the federal budget. Democratic lawmakers are demanding Republicans make concessions on health care policy, including extending health care subsidies that would prevent insurance premiums from rising for millions starting next year. Republicans have said they will not negotiate until Democrats vote to reopen the government. Experts believe there is little chance of reaching a compromise anytime soon.

“A record 35-day shutdown certainly doesn’t seem that unlikely anymore,” Jim Reed, head of macro and thematic research at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a commentary. “The speech does not sound at all like either side is preparing to reach an agreement.”

Greener pastures

Some federal employees have responded by looking for other jobs, according to data from the job search site Indeed. Job applications from federal workers rose in the week of October 9, and were 157% higher than their levels on January 1.

McCormack, who works on rural broadband projects, said he’s not one of them and decided to stay working for the government even after some of his colleagues changed jobs. At least for now.

“When the government shuts down and you can’t do the work, and you may not get a paycheck, it causes you a little bit of anxiety about whether this is the right decision, or whether you should look for greener pastures,” he said.

McCormack said he and many other federal employees remain in their jobs despite the ups and downs because they believe they are doing valuable work on behalf of the public.

“They were people who could obviously make a lot more money in the private sector, and some of them left to make a lot more money in the private sector, but they did it because they were really dedicated to the mission,” he said.