The US economy, which shrank 5 percent in the first quarter from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, is expected to spring back in the third and fourth quarters, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th June, 2020) The US economy, which shrank 5 percent in the first quarter from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, is expected to spring back in the third and fourth quarters, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday.
"We remain confident that the overall economy will continue to improve dramatically in the third and fourth quarters," Mnuchin said in prepared testimony to the US Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Most economists expect US gross domestic product to shrink double digits in the current quarter to end-June, due to the continued impact of COVID-19. The sharp GDP contraction in the first two quarters should technically push the United States into its worst recession in history, they say.
But Trump administration officials, including Mnuchin, said they anticipate a major rebound in the final six months of the year, citing already evident comeback signals like the surprise 2.5 million US jobs gains in May after April's loss of 20.5 million jobs.
Mnuchin also said in his prepared remarks before the Senate committee that the administration's Paycheck Protection Program was helping the economic recovery by ensuring the employment of approximately 50 million workers and more than 75 percent of the small business payroll in all 50 US states.
