The U.S. jobs report for April being released later this week is expected to reflect a record-setting unemployment rate of 16%, but Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said Tuesday he's got "reason for confidence" that the economy will rebound quickly from the drastic hits it suffered from the coronavirus pandemic.
"We got to this point by a completely different route than in past economic downturns," Scalia told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo, pointing out that the losses did not come from any underlying weaknesses, and the country can return to an "extraordinary, unprecedented economy."
"Public health measures are gradually and thoughtfully being lifted, and that gives me reason for confidence in a rebound different than what we've seen in the past," Scalia said.
In addition, President Donald Trump and Congress, through the Paycheck Protection Program, is helping to keep businesses afloat and workers tied to their jobs.
"There are going to be some challenges, but others are doing great things," said Scalia.
However, some businesses want to change the PPP rules. As of now, 75% of the loan must be used to retain employees, and 25% is to go to pay rent and business expenses before companies can consider the federal money as a grant that doesn't need to be paid back.
Some businesses, however, say those rules are too stringent and want to use more of the money for expenses. Scalia said that likely won't happen.
PPP has been an "extraordinary success," said Scalia, but it was designed to protect paychecks.
"Its greatest challenge has been its popularity," Scalia said. "In the first round of funding, we had 1.6 million businesses get loans. In this latest round, already 2.2 million U.S. businesses are getting loans."
But the program was designed to help workers who have been put out of jobs through no fault of their own, so it won't be "all things to all people."
The Treasury and Federal Reserve have other programs that will help small businesses, said Scalia.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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