Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reportedly said with the coronavirus pandemic the US unemployment rate could rise up to 20% without lawmaker action

Associated Press

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force, at the White House, Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Washington, as President Donald Trump looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

• Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin warned GOP senators that the coronavirus pandemic could potentially increase unemployment in the US to 20% if action is not taken by lawmakers, CNN reported Tuesday.
• The unemployment rate during the 2008 financial crisis was a little more than 10%.
• Based on the current US labor force, Mnuchin's projected unemployment rate equates more than 32 million Americans would be out of a job, according to the CNN report.
• Monica Crowley, a spokesperson from the Treasury Department, said Mnuchin relayed the high potential unemployment rate for "illustrative purposes."
• Mnuchin's comments came in tandem with his pitch to Republican senators for a $1 trillion economic stimulus package.
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Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin warned Republican senators that the coronavirus outbreak could potentially increase the unemployment rate in the US up to 20% if no action is taken, CNN reported, citing a GOP Senate source.

The estimated unemployment rate that Mnuchin reportedly shared is double that of the rate during the Great Recession and would leave "more than 32 million Americans out of a job based on the current US labor force," according to the CNN report.

A source also told CNN that Mnuchin projected that the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic - if no action is taken by lawmakers - could be worse than that of the 2008 financial crisis.

Monica Crowley, a spokesperson from the Treasury Department, told CNN that Mnuchin relayed the high potential unemployment rate for "illustrative purposes."

"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," Crowley told CNN and Bloomberg, which first reported the story.

Another Treasury Department official echoed the sentiment to CNN, adding that Mnuchin "used some mathematical examples to illustrate potential risk if there were no intervention, but because they are doing the right things and proposing additional action, that would not be the case."

Mnuchin's comments came in tandem with his pitch to Republican senators for a $1 trillion economic stimulus package, including financial aid to US citizens who bore the brunt of the economic ramifications of the outbreak.

"It is a big number," Mnuchin told reporters Tuesday. "This is a very unique situation in this economy."

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