WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government stretched into the 21st day on Friday, tying the record for the longest in the country's history.
U.S. President Donald Trump has locked himself in a stalemate with congressional Democrats in the dispute over his demand for 5.7 billion dollars for funding a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The partisan fight, with no end in sight, is about to make the partial government shutdown the longest in U.S. history on Saturday.
About 800,000 federal workers, who have been forced to go on unpaid leave or work without pay since Dec. 22 when the shutdown started, will have to miss a paycheck on Friday, which was supposed to be payday.
It is the first time for the partial government shutdown to officially hit their pocketbooks. Most federal employees were paid on Dec. 28 for the final two-week pay period of 2018.
As many as 78 percent of American workers reported they were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a 2017 report by employment website CareerBuilder.
Furthermore, 81 percent of women reported living paycheck to paycheck, compared with 75 percent of men, said a CNBC report.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said on Thursday that prolonged federal government shutdown would clearly impact the economy.
