Trump Administration Asks States To Bury Unemployment Claim Figures
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Source: huff post
03/20/2020 07:13 am ET Updated 10 hours ago
As coronavirus-fueled layoffs swept the country, the Labor Department asked states to refer to new claims in “generalities” to avoid spooking financial markets.
The Trump administration’s Labor Department sent an email to state officials this week asking them to report new unemployment claims only in “generalities” to avoid spooking financial markets, The New York Times reported.
The email on Wednesday asked state labor authorities to only “provide information using generalities to describe claims levels (very high, large increase)” until the Labor Department releases the total number of national claims next Thursday.
“States should not provide numeric values to the public,” Gay Gilbert, the administrator of the department’s Office of Employment Insurance, wrote in the email shared with the Times. The message noted that the figures are closely tracked by financial markets judging the strength of the economy.
Unemployment claims have been skyrocketing as thousands are laid off from jobs amid the spread of coronavirus. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reportedly warned senators that unemployment during the pandemic could hit 20% without a financial rescue package.
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Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/labor-department-trump-fudges-unemployment-claims_n_5e745dc5c5b6eab7794577ee
this will in instill more distrust in the trump admin
= new reply since forum marked as read
