Ohio Air Force furloughs could be $111 million hit

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A newspaper reports that furloughs for civilian Air Force employees could cost the Ohio economy more than $111 million through September.

The Dayton Daily News reports that the estimate is based on 22 days of unpaid time off for 14,278 civilian workers — most of them at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. That’s according to an Air Force document obtained by the newspaper.

Wright-Patterson could resort to furloughs if Congress and President Barack Obama fail to avert sequestration, or automatic defense and domestic spending reductions set to begin March 1.

The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce says the ripple effect of furloughs could have an economic impact of $150 million or more in the region.