White House: Showdown Cost U.S. 120,000 Jobs
Baku, October 23 (AZERTAC). The White House on Tuesday put a finer point on how the government shutdown and threat of default harmed the U.S. economy, saying it shaved 0.25% off economic growth for the fourth quarter and, so far, has resulted in 120,000 fewer jobs being created.
Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said the shutdown and threat of default lowered sales, steel production and the number of mortgage applications filed. He said the council look at a variety of data, including consumer confidence surveys, sales growth figures and claims for unemployment insurance, to arrive at their number.
The government was shut down for 16 days and reopened on Oct. 17amid a budget dispute in Washington that injected uncertainty into financial markets. The White House data took into account information only through Oct. 12, meaning the economic harm could grow once more information is available.
This all just really underscores how unnecessary and harmful the shutdown and the brinksmanship was for the economy, why it`s important to avoid repeating it and instead consider jobs that are adding to growth, not subtracting,” Mr. Furman said from the White House.
The new estimates come as the Labor Department said the U.S. added 148,000 jobs in September, fewer than expected, suggesting that the labor market stumbled heading into the latest budget battles in Washington.
Mr. Furman said the White House would be releasing a report Tuesday evening with details of the data and how it was calculated.
The White House figures for the drop in economic growth are in line with estimates from economists. Many economists have said the shutdown, and the uncertainty caused by whether the government would have enough money to pay its bills, took about 0.2% to 0.26% off economic growth.
Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West, said the White House estimates for job losses are a bit “more aggressive” than he would have thought. Clarity will come when the government releases the jobs report for October, which will be released in November.
He said it was hard to size-up the White House`s estimate of job losses because he hasn`t seen the methodology they used to arrive at their number. And, he said, it`s difficult to estimate something that hasn`t happened.
It would be hard to prove a negative,” he said.
Other news in this section
