Up until February, Joya Patel was an employee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Becoming a civil servant again would be no easy task right now.

Some workers impacted by government cuts are independent contractors who have canceled contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Workers have been paid after past shutdowns, albeit late. But there’s no guarantee they will after any future shutdown.

More than a million have lost jobs during the pandemic.

The economic effects have been largely obscured by the holidays, but will start showing up soon.