‘America is getting back to work’: Jimmy Patronis applauds Donald Trump for improved jobs report

Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis expressed optimism Friday in the economy and President Donald Trump after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an optimistic decrease in the national unemployment rate.

According to federal data, 25 millions jobs were added to the U.S. economy in May and the nationwide unemployment rate dropped from 14.7% in April to 13.3% in May.

“These numbers represent the spirit of our nation and demonstrate that America is getting back to work,” Patronis said. “For everything going on in the world, our businesses are opening their doors and people want to get this economy going again. I am thrilled to see that the government mandated shutdown didn’t extinguish the embers that are now fueling this recovery. The Trump Administration deserves a round of applause for working with Congress to inject critical resources into our communities, and I will continue hoping and praying that we’ll see this progress through summer and into the fall.”

The incremental recovery of the U.S. economy comes as many businesses across the country begin to reopen their doors after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted government sanctioned economic shutdowns, sending millions to the unemployment line and shuttering businesses big and small in neighborhoods across America.

The jobs gained in May suggest that businesses may be calling workers back quickly. Additionally, federal data shows the number of people applying for unemployment benefits has leveled off.

While May showed improvement, economists have forecasted that unemployment could remain in the double digits and it may take months for those who lost work to finds jobs.

Erica Groshen, a labor economist at Cornell University and a former commissioner of the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, said hiring could ramp up relatively quickly in coming months and reduce unemployment to low double-digits by year’s end.

“Then my inclination is that it will be a long, slow slog,” she said.

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Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.