U.S Budget Deficit @ 8.7% of GDP in 2011

The U.S. government posted yet another annual budget deficit in excess of $1 trillion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

The shortfall registered $1.3 trillion in fiscal 2011, up from $1.29 trillion in 2010. It reached $1.42 trillion in 2009, the highest ever.

The budget deficit for fiscal 2011 was 8.7 percent of GDP, down from 9 percent in 2010, according to the Treasury data. The gap reached 10 percent of GDP in 2009, the highest since 1945.