As the federal government inches closer to another shutdown, the D.C. region is in a precarious position — a point that economic experts said is unlike any previous shutdown.

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“I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this before. So no, this is in many respects unprecedented. We’re charting new territories,” said Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.

Clower pointed to a troubling convergence of factors: 18,000 federal jobs lost this year, a decline of 8,500 jobs in professional and business services and a s

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