The effects of the 16-day government shutdown back in October have so far been large and varied, though many economists fear that much of the long-term damage from Congress' bout of inaction is still yet to be determined. On the short term, however, a bevy of reports from government agencies that analysts depend on to gauge the health of the national economy were delayed. This includes the jobs report, which was just announced more than a week late on Friday, November 8, because, ironically, the experts who compile unemployment statistics were essentially out of work for much of October.
However, it appears that according to payroll data the United States added roughly 204,000 jobs in October, which was well above analysts' expectations. This indicates that while the shutdown may have cost the United States billions in revenue – not to mention a great deal of credibility on the international landscape – the private sector largely shrugged off the government shutdown.
However, the unemployment rate jumped from 7.2 percent in September to 7.3 percent in October, as the 800,000 furloughed government employees were technically considered "out of work" for much of the month.
"While we have to take today's report with a grain of salt, we are impressed by the strength of the report," Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG, a brokerage firm, told the Associated Press. "Given the impact of the shutdown, we have to wait until November's report to get a fuller picture of what's happening this fall but we're happy enough in the meantime."
Individuals need to look into asset protection planning to make sure that should the repercussions of the shutdown be greater than expected, they are ready for the worst.