Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin raised the possibility with Republican senators that U.S. unemployment could rise to 20% without government intervention because of the impact of the coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mnuchin discussed the scenario with the lawmakers on Tuesday as he proposed an economic stimulus of $1 trillion or more.
The Treasury secretary did not predict the U.S. would reach that level, but said he believed the outbreak has the potential to do more economic damage than the 2008 financial crisis as he argued for fiscal stimulus to hourly workers and businesses hurt by “social distancing” amid the outbreak.