Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Says U.S. Unemployment May Have Hit 25%

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Says U.S. Unemployment May Have Hit 25%

Appearing on “Fox News Sunday” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the U.S. unemployment rate may have already reached 25%.

“This is no fault of American business, this is no fault of American workers, this is a result of a virus,” Mnuchin told Chris Wallace during the interview.

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“The reported numbers are probably going to get worse before they get better,” he said, adding that “next year is going to be a great year.”

The real unemployment rate, which includes people who are not looking for work or are underemployed, already stands at 22.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In Rhode Island, 211,080 have filed for unemployment insurance.  Another 47,459 have filed for “gig” economy benefits and 20,767 have filed for temporary disability insurance.

Prior to the coronavirus crisis, Rhode Island’s unemployment was 3.5% and the total workforce was 530,000.

Mnuchin acknowledged that the jobless rate may be even higher and stand at 25%, comparable to the Great Depression when pressed on the issue by Wallace who pointed out that April’s unemployment report stopped in the middle of the month. 

Economist report, the coronavirus has erased all job gains since the Great Recession.