Treasury Secretary Warns Unemployment Could Reach 20%

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 17: (L-R) U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin looks on during a briefing about the coronavirus outbreak in the press briefing room at the White House on March 17, 2020 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration is considering an $850 billion stimulus package to counter the economic fallout as the coronavirus spreads. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Scary predictions about unemployment in the United States. Bloomberg is reporting, “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin raised the possibility with Republican senators that without government intervention, the U.S. could see 20% unemployment.”

Mnuchin's warning was aimed at underscoring how bad things could get barring big moves to stabilize things, we're told. https://t.co/zfAffMNbBz
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) March 17, 2020

Bloomberg goes on to say that Mnuchin “told the senators that he believes the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak is potentially worse than the 2008 financial crisis.”

In response to this information, the publication got this statement from Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley:

“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.”