Here's How A Debt Ceiling Standoff Would Gravely Affect Some States

Leaders in Washington this week failed to again resolve a debt ceiling debt, which could have disastrous implications for the employment of Americans in several states across the U.S. if it remains unresolved.

A meeting between President Joe Biden and top congressional officials on the debt ceiling was initially planned for Friday. However, it was abruptly postponed to next week due to varying reasons. The Washington Post reported that one GOP lawmaker, who spoke out of anonymity, said the postponement came because White House staff members were too slow. A different source told the outlet that the postponement is a positive signal that staffers are preparing more options for Biden and congressional leaders.

Economists are now warning that failure to reach a resolution to the country's debt ceiling standoff would likely put the U.S. economy into recession as soon as June 1. Economists also warned that it could cut thousands of jobs in several states in the U.S. The worst job cuts would likely be felt in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, CNN reported, citing data from economic research group Moody's Analytics.

In addition to job cuts, the unemployment rate would also see a spike and reach up to a double-digit increase in several states, particularly in the District of Columbia, California, Ohio and Michigan.

Should the country's debt ceiling standoff continue, the job cut situation would likely get worse, with California losing at least 841,600 job opportunities, Texas would lose 561,700, Florida could lose 474,700 and New York could shed 398,300.

Federal workers are less likely to be affected by job cuts, but they may see delays in receiving their wages. Federal contractors will also likely be affected by late payments, which means they could struggle to compensate their workers, the analysis said.

The analysis from Moody's came after Washington was unable to make any progress on a debt ceiling deal during Wednesday and Thursday meetings.

A debt ceiling refers to restrictions that Congress has put in place to determine how much money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills. The ceiling often increases to continue paying for the government's operations. The current debt ceiling is around $31.4 trillion, which the U.S. hit in January.