The federal government ran a deficit of $257 billion in October 2024, an increase of $191 billion from the deficit of $67 billion recorded in October 2023. However, October 1, 2023, fell on a weekend, which caused payments for certain programs to be shifted into September, thereby reducing spending for the month. Adjusting for that timing shift, the October 2024 deficit was $118 billion more than the same month in the previous year.

Spending in October 2024 was $114 more than in October last year, although the large difference is mainly attributable to the timing shift. Controlling for that adjustment, outlays were up by $41 billion compared to October 2023. The categories with the largest increases in outlays were national defense ($16 billion compared to last October), Social Security ($8 billion), and net interest ($4 billion). Partially offsetting those increases was a $15 billion decrease in spending by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as payments were made last year related to the failure of First Republic Bank.