White House Sees More Job Losses Ahead
The latest employment report, which showed U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs in the month of June, is a "disappointment," but is still an improvement over the 700,000 a month that were shed in earlier months this year, said Christina Romer, chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.
"This is still a diminution, but obviously we wish it had been better," Romer said.
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Following private forecasts, Romer predicts the job market will bottom out in the third quarter and start to turn around at the end of the year. Employment tends to lag behind gross domestic product, or GDP, which private forecasters predict will turn positive at the end of the year.
"Employment and unemployment are lagging series," she said. "So we are in for some more job losses."
Looking to the future, Romer said the administration's attitude is to concentrate on the policies that have already been put into place. Still, the administration hasn't discounted the possibility of a second stimulus plan.
"We'll do whatever it takes," she said.
