U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has been better than expected so far, and it won't be necessary to extend an emergency unemployment program that ends this month.
"We are doing well; we do need to be careful about the virus, but I am just optimistic," Scalia said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday." "It's really important to again remember how much better than projected we've done so far."
"Spending, retail spending, consumer spending generally, new home starts, all of these have been actually very encouraging economic indicators over the last about six weeks or so," Scalia said.
But recent better-than-expected economic data have been a result of businesses rapidly reopening, and that could reverse now that the pandemic is raging in certain parts of the country, said Moody's Analytics' chief economist Mark Zandi.
Going forward, jobs data are likely going to look worse as businesses and consumers pull back in states where the number of virus cases is rising, he said. Policymakers need to act quickly to ensure the economic recovery stays on track, Zandi said.
"The economy needs a lot of help," Zandi said on CBS News' "Face the Nation." "State and local governments are hemorrhaging red ink," which threatens middle-class jobs should there be large layoffs.
His caution echoed that of economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., who Sunday revised down their GDP estimate for the current quarter as a result of the start-stop nature of reopenings in some states.
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As lawmakers prepare to resume talks about another round of stimulus this month, President Donald Trump's calls for tax relief -- including a potential payroll tax cut -- could be "an important part" of bringing more people back to work, said Scalia, a member of the White House coronavirus task force.
But the $600 weekly unemployment benefit established as part of the first round of stimulus shouldn't be part of the next package, Scalia said.