This story was originally published on CBS News on April 5, 2020
CBS News
“The following is a transcript of an interview with James Bullard, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, that aired Sunday, April 5, 2020, on “Face the Nation.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: The breathtaking speed of this global economic contraction is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. And that makes it very difficult to project out what this slowdown will mean. This week, there were more than six and a half million new unemployment claims filed by now jobless Americans. Combined with over three million last week, that means nearly 10 million Americans have lost jobs in less than a month. We turn now to James Bullard, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, one of 12 banks that make up the Federal Reserve system. He joins us from St. Louis. Good to have you with us.
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ST. LOUIS PRESIDENT JAMES BULLARD: Pleasure to be here.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You and your team have predicted that 47 million Americans could lose their jobs, bringing the jobless rate above 30 percent. It- it sounds like you’re saying the job market is in freefall. Where do you see this happening? What Americans? What industries?
BULLARD: Yeah, I would push back against the idea of the economy or the job market being in freefall. We’re asking people to stay home to invest in national health, and we’re asking them to use the unemployment insurance program in order to get the transfers they need to be able to pay bills while they’re at home, while they’re not able to work because health authorities are trying to get the virus under control. Our estimates, which are available at our blog, St. Louis Fed on the economy blog, suggests the unemployment rate could go anywhere between 10 percent and 42 percent. The 32 percent number is a- is a compromise in the middle…”
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