As the record partial government shutdown drags on, Johnny Jones, a federal security screener at DFW International Airport, has to decide if he can afford to keep his 5-year-old daughter in daycare.

“I can’t make the payment anymore,” Jones said. “Since we’re not getting paid, I’m going to have to take extreme measures.”

The federal shutdown reached its 25th day on Wednesday, and airport screeners say they're hurting. Employed by the federal Transportation Security Administration — and forced to work without paychecks — airport screeners typically make about $40,000 a year, according to federal statistics, and lack a big cushion of savings.

TSA screeners, including Jones, were among several dozen federal workers and union members who gathered Wednesday outside DFW Airport’s Terminal D to call attention to the shutdown’s hardships.

Across the country, many screeners have called in sick — and not because they’re ill.

"These are folks that cannot come to work because they don’t have the money for groceries, mortgages, for their cars, for gas and daycare," said Rudy Garcia, head of the local union that represents about 800 local federal airport screeners who work for the Transportation Security Administration.

“If you don’t have money or resources to pay for child care or to fill your car up with gas to get to work, then what do you do? You call out.”

Jones, a 16-year TSA employee, is a father of four. His oldest is preparing to enter the military service, and his two middle children are still in school. His wife has a government job, too — but with Tarrant County.

“She makes just enough to keep us going, but we’re exhausting our savings now,” Jones said.

Jones said as a result, he’s looking to cut back on all but the most essential expenses.

“It puts a lot of things on hold,” Jones said. “You don’t know when the next paycheck's coming."

Jones said if he doesn't get paid soon, he will "have to make some tough financial decisions."

Johnny Jones, a 16-year TSA employee, is a father of four. His oldest is preparing to enter the military service, and his two middle children are still in school. His wife has a government job, too -- but with Tarrant County. "She makes just enough to keep us going, but we're exhausting our savings now," Jones said. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

The TSA confirmed in a statement Wednesday “many employees are reporting that they are not able to report to work due to financial limitations.”

The sick rate on Monday — 7.6 percent, according to TSA figures — was more than double the number of screeners who called in sick at the same time last year.

The TSA, in a written statement, declined to give exact numbers of unscheduled absences at airports, citing security concerns.

While wait times are within normal TSA standards of 30 minutes or less, some airports have experienced longer than usual wait times, according to the TSA statement.

Newark Liberty International Airport recorded the highest security wait times with an average of 25 minutes. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was second with a 23-minute average. DFW International Airport had the fifth-highest average wait time: 20 minutes.

The staffing shortage in Atlanta — the world’s busiest airport — forced TSA to fly in backup officers to fill the gap, CNN reported Wednesday.

Just in: @tsa short staffing at the worlds busiest airport has become such a problem TSA was forced to fly out 20 back up officers to help fill the gap in staffing at ATL Hartsfield Jackson Intl per the airport’s GM #governmentshutdown — Rene Marsh (@Rene_MarshCNN) January 16, 2019

The shutdown has no clear end in sight. Congress and President Donald Trump have been at a standstill over his request for funding for a border wall with Mexico.

Since the shutdown began Dec. 21, about 800,000 federal workers have been working without pay.

Another North Texas TSA employee, Becky Mancha, 44, said she’s fortunate her husband works.

"These are folks that cannot come to work because they don't have the money for groceries, mortgages, for their cars, for gas and daycare," said Rudy Garcia, head of the local union that represents about 800 local federal airport screeners who work for the Transportation Security Administration. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

“That’s helping to make ends meet,” Mancha said.

A renter, Mancha and her husband had hoped to buy a home soon. But they have has had to put off that purchase indefinitely, she said.

"It's affecting lives," she said. "It's putting more stress, more worry and more frustration in my life...I don't know how much longer I'll be able to go."

If the shutdown continues, she’ll have to consider getting another job — a personal calculation many of her other colleagues are also making, she said.

“I thought at the beginning it wouldn’t last that long,” she said, citing the 2013 shutdown that lasted 16 days. “But it’s gone a lot longer than I expected. So now I don’t know where that breaking point is going to be.”

Staff writer Conor Shine contributed to this report.