Steven Mnuchin says actual unemployment rate could be closer to 25% - not the 14.7% reported by the Labor Department - and match jobless peak of the 1933 Great Depression
- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday morning that the unemployment rate could be incorrect and be more around 25 per cent
- The current numbers indicate unemployment levels are at 22.8 per cent
- He also said Donald Trump is 'willing to spend whatever it takes' to help mitigate the coronavirus pandemic
- The comments came as unemployment levels reached another all-time high
- More than 33 million people have applied for benefits in the last five weeks
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Steven Mnuchin said Sunday morning that the real unemployment numbers could be more around 25 per cent, about 3 per cent more than the current statistics show as application levels reach all-time highs.
'The real unemployment number for April, which again includes people who are not looking for work or underemployed, is 22.8 per cent,' Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallae noted, adding that the number does not include the 7 million people who have lost their jobs since mid-April.
'Are we talking close to 25 per cent at this point, which is Great Depression levels?' Wallace posed.
'We could be,' the Treasury secretary conceded.
'You are correct, the reported numbers are probably going to get worse before they get better, but that's where we are focused on rebuilding this economy,' Mnuchin continued. 'We will have a better third quarter, a better fourth quarter and next year is going to be a great year.'
The admission from Mnuchin came after new numbers came out this week revealing more than 33 million filed for unemployment benefits in the last two months.
He insisted that President Donald Trump is keen on passing the 'largest economic program ever to help American workers get through' the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump's administration, Mnuchin said, is 'willing to spend whatever it takes' to reach that goal, while remaining cautious about spending more money before seeing how the handful of other packages affect the economy first.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday morning that the current unemployment number of 22.8 per cent could actually be more around 25 per cent
The comments came as unemployment levels reached another all-time high after five dismals weekly filing periods where more than 30 million people have applied for benefits
'We just want to make sure that before we jump again and spend another few trillion of taxpayers' money that we do it carefully,' Mnuchin told Wallace. 'We had an emergency process. It worked quickly. We are there to help the American people.'
'If we are going to be considerate and if we need to help the American people in every aspect of this, as I said before, we are willing to spend whatever it takes, but whatever it takes need to be done carefully,' he continued.
Since the start of the pandemic, Mnuchin, a former Democrat, has acted as the liaison between the White House and lawmakers drafting the legislation Congress.
Democrats are preparing to propose another several-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief package, and while Republicans appear to be widely on board, they are opposed to several stipulations and want to observe caution in pumping more money into the economy.
Trump is pushing for a payroll tax, which Democrats, and several Republicans, are against.
'We are absolutely pushing for the payroll tax cut,' Mnuchin asserted to Fox News host Chris Wallace. 'It's an incentive to get people back to work. It's delivering money to the American public and to business. In a very effective way and that will be one of the components.'
Democrats, however, say relief for state and local governments are a must in the next relief bill, which they say could be upwards of $3 trillion– and also claim it needs to include more direct checks for Americans, relief for small businesses and bolstering federal food stamp programs.
'The Democrats have been asking for more money for states,' Mnuchin continued in his interview. 'We've been very clear that we are not going to do things just to bailout states that were poorly managed, but we are going to look at all these issues and let me just emphasize, all these bills have had enormous bipartisan support.'
Mnuchin also said Donald Trump is 'willing to spend whatever it takes' to help mitigate the coronavirus pandemic and provide economic relief and stimulus
'When we need to go back and work and help the American public, we will do this in a bipartisan way and make sure we get all of these things included,' he said.
The next massive coronavirus relief bill is meant to be a 'part two' of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act signed by Trump at the end of March.
That bill included billions in grants for small businesses to keep their 500 employees or less on payroll and pay other expenses during the coronavirus crisis and $1,200 direct checks for most Americans earning less than $99,000.
No comments:
Post a Comment