Mnuchin warns jobless rate could hit 20 percent without federal response: report
By Zack Budryk - 03/17/20 07:57 PM EDT
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Republican Senators Tuesday that without government intervention the U.S. could hit 20 percent unemployment because of the coronavirus, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Treasury secretary did not predict the U.S. would reach that level, but said he believed the outbreak has the potential to do more economic damage than the 2008 financial crisis as he argued for financial stimulus to hourly workers and businesses hurt by “social distancing†amid the outbreak.
“During the meeting with Senate Republicans today, Secretary Mnuchin used several mathematical examples for illustrative purposes, but he never implied this would be the case,†Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley told Bloomberg.
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/488143-mnuchin-warned-jobless-rate-could-hit-20-percent-without-federal-response