What this shutdown could mean for the economy and your 401(k)

The US Capitol in Washington. Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Although painful for federal workers, travelers, and thousands of people and businesses in and outside Washington that partner with the US government, shutdowns typically aren’t significant events for the stock market or the economy.

This time could be different .

What a shutdown usually means

Shutdowns are typically short-term events, and whatever economic damage occurs during that time tends to be limited and quickly fixed. Even the last government shutdown – the record-long 35-day shutdown in 2018-2019 – had few long-lasting impacts on the US economy and financial markets.

Although hundreds of thousands of nonessential federal employees get furloughed during government shutdowns, investors and economists no