WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's top economic adviser on Friday lamented rising unemployment in America due to the new coronavirus.
Larry Kudlow says government checks are on their way and predicted the economy would rebound quickly. He says COVID-19 and stimulus efforts only interrupted what was a strong U.S. economic boom.
Kudlow spoke after the government reported that the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% in March from a 50-year low of 3.5%. The job loss of 701,000 was the worst since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009 and foreshadows what's to come.
"Those numbers and those hardships are going to get worse before they get better," Kudlow told reporters at the White House.
Earlier on "Fox News Channel," Kudlow predicted that upcoming economic numbers will be equally negative.
"This is a very deep contraction. The numbers are going to come in very badly," Kudlow said.
He added: "There's also no question that we are providing more relief and assistance for unemployment than ever before in our nation's history."
He said regular unemployment checks are going out now and that the extra $600 in unemployment money has been given to the states for distribution.
Kudlow said tax rebate checks part of the $2.2 trillion rescue package signed into law March 27 will likely arrive in a couple weeks.