<p class="title">US President Donald Trump downplayed warnings that the US unemployment rate could spike to 20 per cent due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying Tuesday the economy is "nowhere near" that point.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly warned Republican senators the jobless rate could reach 20 per cent without a massive government stimulus program, which would be more than double the peak hit during the 2008 economic downturn.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Trump said he did not agree with the estimate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"That's an absolute total worst-case scenario," he told reporters at the White House. "We're nowhere near it.</p>
<p class="title">US President Donald Trump downplayed warnings that the US unemployment rate could spike to 20 per cent due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying Tuesday the economy is "nowhere near" that point.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly warned Republican senators the jobless rate could reach 20 per cent without a massive government stimulus program, which would be more than double the peak hit during the 2008 economic downturn.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Trump said he did not agree with the estimate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"That's an absolute total worst-case scenario," he told reporters at the White House. "We're nowhere near it.</p>