Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC on Wednesday that the U.S. economy appears to have reached its lowest point due to the coronavirus.
"We still have a lot of hardship, and we have a lot of heartbreak in many areas. The numbers are still way too high on the unemployment and so forth," Kudlow said on "The Exchange." "But it looks like we've hit a turning point."
Kudlow's comments came after last week's May jobs report showed a surprising gain in employment, when many economists had expected another dramatic decrease. The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 13.3%, from April's 14.7%.
Kudlow said the small-business-focused Paycheck Protection Program "led directly" to May's improved job landscape and argued additional people will be added back to payrolls in June as states further ease coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses.
"Let's hope that this thing bottomed way in April and we're headed towards a terrific recovery in the second half of the year," said Kudlow, while also pointing to a recovery in the housing market and increased Apple mobility data. "We are turning a corner. We are transitioning."
Texas, among the first states to relax its statewide stay-at-home order, has seen three consecutive days of record-breaking coronavirus hospitalizations.
Kudlow, who in late February said the U.S. had contained the spread of Covid-19 "pretty close to airtight" before the disease killed 110,000 Americans, acknowledged it is true that Covid-19 cases are rising more significantly in "certain areas." Even so, he maintained that the U.S. economy would be able to continue its recovery without sizable virus-induced setbacks.
"Our health experts have told me repeatedly, 'We have much more experience at dealing with hot spots. We have much better equipment, PPE, testing and ... ventilators, and we will be able to fight some fires without closing down the economy,'" Kudlow said.