This is when federal workers will receive their back pay

Finally, millions of missing paychecks are about to hit federal employees’ bank accounts as the government reopens after its 43-day shutdown.

With the government now reopened, federal employees are on track to get back their owed wages within days. Furloughed workers as well as those working without pay will receive their wages early Saturday, with details varying depending on the agency they work for. Semaphore Quoting a document from the White House.

Federal law requires the government to pay federal workers “as soon as possible” after a shutdown, rather than waiting for a regular pay period. While President Donald Trump has threatened not to reinstate workers’ wages and fire others, the Reopening Government Act would require those who were fired to be reinstated and compensated for their full wages.

The return of paychecks will come as a relief to affected workers — an estimated 670,000 are furloughed and 730,000 are working without pay, according to the bipartisan Policy Center — as well as the broader economy.

By the time the shutdown ended Wednesday, federal workers had lost a cumulative 3.1 million paychecks, according to the BPC. At an average of $4,700 per paycheck, BPC estimates, that means about $14.6 billion in back pay will go out next week.

The shutdown ends what had been a “horrific” experience for federal employees, who missed multiple paychecks and faced uncertainty about if and when they could return to their jobs.

Forecasters expect the economy to mostly recover as lost wages return and workers make purchases they delayed during the shutdown. However, some economic damage may be permanent.