With recovery fragile, shutdown will hit United States economy

The last time the federal US government shut down, for three weeks in the winter of 1995-96, the American economy felt a jolt but recovered quickly.

Things don't look anywhere near as promising this time around.

The nation is currently more than four years into an economic expansion with some momentum behind it. That also was the case in 1995. But this time, things are a lot more fragile.

Americans continue to suffer from a relatively high unemployment rate of 7.3 per cent, which is about 2 percentage points higher than in December 1995. Back then, job growth was stronger, the economy was starting to benefit from the technology boom and baby boomers were entering their prime earning years, not preparing for retirement.

The recovery from the recession has been sluggish and repeatedly held back by political budget battles, but many had been hoping the economy would pick up steam heading into next year.

The housing and stock markets have been growing, and consumers have cut debt and are feeling more confident.

Estimates of economic effect vary.