White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow called Friday’s jobs report further evidence of a “V-shaped” recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, despite the numbers falling short of expectations.
The U.S. economy added 245,000 jobs in November, far below the 469,000 jobs economicsts predicted, though the unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent.
“Jobs are the toughest nut,” Kudlow said on “The Daily Briefing.” “We’ve lowered unemployment by half. There’s more work to be done and if we do have targeted assistance, we should help those folks. There’s more hardship, I agree with that.Â
“But on the whole, this is a V-shaped recovery,” he added. “I stand by that and I think the data show that.”
US JOB GROWTH SLOWS IN NOVEMBER AS CORONAVIRUS SURGE THREATENS ECONOMIC RECOVERY
“Today’s number, 6.7 percent unemployment is a heck of a good number,” he went on.
Kudlow also touted “strong” retail and housing numbers as positive signs for the economy.
The latest jobs report came as the U.S. faces record hospitalizations, daily cases, and deaths from COVID-19.Â
President-elect Joe Biden called the report “grim” and urged the passage of another stimulus bill as soon as possible. Biden backs a proposed $908 billion package that is also supported by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Pelosi has come under fire for shifting her opinion after refusing to support any deal worth less than $2.2 trillion before the election. She said Biden’s victory and the soon-to-be released vaccines for the virus changed her calculus.
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Kudlow cautioned that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is not ready to support such a package. President Trump has signaled he will support a smaller deal that has McConnell’s blessing.
“The targeted policies are what really counts,” Kudlow said. “There should be additional assistance to small businesses, the PPP program. I think there should be assistance for unemployment. We’ve always backed that.”Â
Fox News’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.