Trump Economic Adviser: Unemployment Could Remain In Double Digits Through November

“You’ll end up with a number north of 20% in May,” said Hassett in an interview on CNN’s State of The Union, referring to the unemployment rate, which jumped to 14.7% in April due to the pandemic.

Hassett added that he predicts unemployment will be higher in June than was in May, and that the jobless rate could stay in the double digits through November, the same month of the general election.

“If there was a vaccine in July, I’d be way more optimistic,” Hassett said. 

Still, Hassett clarified that while it may take a while for the U.S. to get back to full employment, “signs of economic recovery” will be “raging everywhere” by the end of the year; “There’s a lot of belief we can get going way faster than we did during previous crises,” Hassett added. 

Hassett also said that he expects the unemployment rate to “trend down” after June.

 The senior Trump adviser also addressed the possibility of another stimulus bill, saying the White House will “consider” sending additional stimulus checks to Americans but that Trump would be more likely to back a cut to the payroll tax.