Measurements of the labor market's health continue to ping-pong in the absence of official government data. Just days after reporting that employers added 42,000 jobs last month, ADP released a new analysis suggesting the U.S. actually shed an average of 11,250 private-sector jobs per week through Oct. 25. This finding dovetails with Goldman Sachs research pegging the monthly losses at 50,000, though that includes 100,000 government workers who accepted deferred resignation. Meanwhile, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett told CNBC some October data may never be collected because of the government shutdown.
Small-business owners aren't feeling too good about the economy. Sentiment dropped to a six-month low in October, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday, as sales slowed and materials got more expensive. In fact, the net share of small-business owners reporting stronger earnings fell 9 percentage points — the biggest drop since the pandemic. At the same time, though, just a third of owners said they had trouble filling job openings, which is the lowest figure in about five years.
After dipping below $100,000 earlier this month, Bitcoin’s recovery efforts are facing resistance. The largest cryptocurrency rose above $107,000 at the start of this week, before sliding below $104,000 on Tuesday — a dynamic that reflects “fragile sentiment,” according to Bloomberg. About $340 billion in market value has been erased since Oct. 10 amid a cascade of liquidations. Bitcoin’s inability to rise above its 200-day moving average — around $110,000 — has prevented a durable uptrend, analysts say.
Some business activity paused Tuesday for Veterans Day, as executives paid tribute to those who have served in the U.S. military. On LinkedIn, corporate leaders across sectors posted words of gratitude and pride in honor of both veterans and their families. While U.S. stock markets remained open for trading, the bond market and most banks were closed. Veterans Day, originally called Armistice Day, began in 1918, became a federal holiday in 1938, and was renamed in 1954.
Current Status:
The House could start voting on the Senate-passed bill as early as 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13. If it passes the House, the bill will go to the President's desk for his signature.
President Trump said Monday that he supports the funding deal, and House Speaker Mike Johnson told Republican House members to begin traveling to Washington, D.C., for a vote.
The legislation extends government funding through January 2026, includes three yearlong funding bills for various federal agencies and programs, and reinstates laid off federal workers.
The shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025, has lasted 41 days and is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, surpassing the previous record of 34 days set in 2018-2019.
The government should reopen later this week, likely by Thursday, November 13, assuming the House passes the bill tomorrow as planned.
The holiday rush may lose some of its momentum this year — even among high-income travelers — as a report from Deloitte on Wednesday shows Americans are planning to take fewer trips and spend less on them amid growing financial concerns.
A little more than a year ago, Ryan Sprankle welcomed President Donald Trump to one of the three grocery stores his family owns near Pittsburgh. Trump was on the campaign trail; they talked about high grocery prices, and the Republican nominee picked up a bag of popcorn.
But these days, Sprankle would have a different message if Trump or any lawmakers visited his store. He wants them to know that delayed SNAP benefits during the government shutdown hurt his customers and his small, independent chain.
“You can’t take away from the most needy people in the country. It’s inhumane,” Sprankle said. “It’s a lack of empathy and it’s on all their hands.
The Trump administration froze funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at the end of October, impacting food access for some 42 million Americans. On Monday, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would reopen the federal government and replenish SNAP funds, but the U.S. House of Representatives still must consider the bill. It’s unclear when SNAP payments might resume if the government reopens.
In 2024, SNAP recipients redeemed a little more than $96 billion in benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. The majority – 74% -- was spent at superstores and supermarkets, a category that includes big chains like Walmart and Kroger but also some independent stores like Sprankle’s.
Around 14% was spent at smaller grocery and convenience stores, businesses often tucked into neighborhoods and more easily accessible to SNAP beneficiaries.
A stalled economic engine
Etharin Cousin, a former director of the United Nations World Food Program and founder of the nonprofit Food Systems for the Future, said the cutoff of SNAP benefits had immediate impacts on grocers and convenience stores of all sizes, most of which operate on slim profit margins of 1% to 2%.
“SNAP isn’t just a social safety net for families. It’s also a local economic engine,” Cousin said. “SNAP benefits flow directly into neighborhoods, stores, regional distributors and community jobs.”
Walmart declined to comment on the impact of the SNAP funding lapse but noted that it has been lowering prices and donating to local food banks. Kroger also declined to comment.
Shoppers not receiving their food benefits affects all retailers but becomes “a big problem more quickly” at small chains, Sprankle said. His Kittanning, Pennsylvania, store gets 25% of its revenue from SNAP, but customers who don’t get government assistance also are worried about the shutdown, according to Sprankle. They’re spending less, trading down to cheaper goods or heading to food banks, he said.
Sprankle said lower sales cut into the overtime he can offer to the chain’s 140 employees. Many are worried about losing their jobs, he said.
“They have families to feed, they have kids for buy gifts for,” he said. “If I have to sell my truck, we’re going to give Christmas bonuses.”
Liz Abunaw, the owner and operator of Forty Acres Fresh Market in Chicago, recently saw a customer putting back a full cart of groceries because she couldn’t afford them without SNAP.
Abunaw opened the supermarket in September after years spent selling produce at pop-up markets and in delivery boxes. Only about 12% of Abunaw’s revenue comes from SNAP benefits right now, she said. But without it -- or if SNAP recipients spend less money in her store -- it will slow Forty Acres’ growth and make it harder to pay the workers, suppliers and farmers who depend on her, she said.
“SNAP is currency. I get money I then use in this economy. It’s not a food box,” Abunaw said. “The economic impact of SNAP is larger than the dollars spent.”
From neighborhood shops to food pantries
The suspended food aid also had an immediate impact on Kanbe’s Markets, a nonprofit that stocks produce in coolers at 110 convenience stores around Kansas City, Missouri. Kanbe’s distributes a mixture of donated food and food purchased from wholesalers to keep prices low, founder and CEO Maxfield Kaniger said.
Kanbe’s also distributes free food to 50 food pantries and soup kitchens around the city.
Kaniger said some of the convenience stores he works with saw their sales drop 10% in the days after Nov. 1, when SNAP benefits weren’t paid. At the same time, the food pantries he supplies asked for double or triple their usual orders.
Because it’s giving away more food than usual, Kanbe’s has to spend more buying produce for the coolers it stocks. It’s frustrating for Kaniger, who must make decisions quickly before food spoils.
“It should be enough that people are going without food. Period, end of sentence. People going without food is wrong,” he said.
Babir Sultan sells berries, lemons, potatoes, bananas and other produce from Kanbe’s at his four FavTrip convenience stores in the Kansas City area. His stores are in food deserts, far from other groceries or big retailers, he said, so it’s important to him to stock fresh produce for those neighborhoods.
Sultan said foot traffic at his stores fell 8% to 10% in early November after SNAP funding ceased. He decided to offer $10 of free produce to SNAP beneficiaries but said he’s also happy to help out other customers who might be struggling right now.
“If you’re in need, just ask, we’ll take care of you,” Sultan said. “Everybody is affected whenever the customer is feeling the pinch.”
Airlines have canceled more than 9,000 flights across the U.S. since the Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight cuts last week to ease demand on control towers, which are short-staffed during the federal government shutdown.
Although the government appears set to reopen in the coming days, airport disruptions, flight cancellations and economic losses won’t disappear right away.
Here’s how the air travel network is being impacted:
Flights remain disrupted as the shutdown nears an end
Another 1,200 domestic flights were canceled Tuesday as the FAA increased its target for cutting flights at the nation’s busiest airports to 6%, up from 4%. There were fewer cancellations than in recent days, which Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed to more air traffic controllers returning to work after news of a shutdown agreement.
Cancellations and delays also piled up due to ripple effects from flight cuts and severe weather. FAA air traffic chief Frank McIntosh said the agency restricted large sections of airspace over the weekend “to slow the entire country down, which forced massive cancellations and delays.”
Flight cuts won’t end until the FAA sees safety improve
The FAA hasn’t said when it will roll back flight limits. Duffy reinforced Tuesday that the cuts will remain — even after the shutdown ends — until safety metrics improve and staffing levels stabilize at air traffic control facilities. The cuts are set to rise to 10% Friday.
Duffy has declined to share the specific safety data that prompted the flight cuts. But in a news conference at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, he cited reports of planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.
Air traffic controller shortages won’t go away either
The nationwide shortage of controllers isn’t new, but the shutdown likely made it worse, with Duffy saying that 15-20 controllers are retiring every day and some younger controllers leaving the profession.
And it doesn’t take many controller absences to create problems. During the shutdown, a number of controllers who weren’t being paid called off work as they dealt with increased stress and the need to take side jobs to cover their bills.
Former FAA air traffic control chief Mike McCormick said it’s similar to when many controllers left during the pandemic because “when the stressors in the workplace become too much of a challenge then those who can will resign or retire.”
Airlines will need to readjust after the flight cuts are lifted
The flight restrictions upended airline operations in just a matter of days. Many planes were rerouted and aren’t where they’re supposed to be.
McCormick said he expects operations to recover within days, similar to after a major snowstorm. Eric Chaffee, a Case Western Reserve professor who studies risk management, warned the disruptions could last weeks as airlines face “complex operational hurdles” and winter weather complicates recovery before Thanksgiving.
“It’s similar to if you start pulling threads out of a tapestry,” Chaffee said. “What you may find is that lots unravels in addition to what you are trying to remove.”
Holiday travel outlook darkens amid persistent disruptions
The pace of airline ticket sales for Thanksgiving travel has slowed as travelers reconsider flying. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said ticket sales during the busy late November season are still expected to be up over last year, but only slightly.
Major airports bear the brunt of flight cuts
Hub airports in Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and the New York area have seen the bulk of the cancellations. They’ve also been plagued by long delays caused by staffing shortages in regional air traffic control centers and towers. Smaller regional airlines like SkyWest and Republic have been hit hardest because they fly many of the regional routes being dropped by the major airlines.
Trump’s post demands controllers get back to work
The head of the air traffic controllers union said controllers were not staging an organized walkout and remain committed to their jobs. However President Donald Trump on Monday blasted those who’ve taken time off during the shutdown, posting on social media “get back to work, NOW!!!” He also called for docking their pay while giving $10,000 bonuses for those who stayed.
Duffy said the bonuses would be for controllers who never missed a shift during the shutdown while he may take action against those who continually failed to show up for work. He said that after the shutdown, all controllers should receive 70% of their pay within 48 hours.
Airlines face mounting losses
Canceled flights and mounting delays are adding to big losses for the airlines. The lost revenue is likely to add up to “hundreds of millions of dollars a day,’’ said Greg Raiff, CEO of the Elevate Aviation Group. He expects the toll to show up when the airlines start issuing earnings warnings for the fourth quarter.
Millions of people were affected
An estimated 5.2 million passengers have been affected by staffing-related delays or cancellations since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, according to Airlines for America, an industry trade group.
Henry Evans, a University of Michigan student, expected to fly Delta to Detroit on Sunday after visiting family in New York.
But after repeated delays the flight was canceled, so Evans rented a car and drove nine hours through the night to make his Monday morning classes in Ann Arbor.
Two rental counters told him they were out of cars that night. “I got a sense that a lot of people were doing a similar thing to me,” he said.