Trump administration asks states to keep quiet about unemployment numbers

Published March 20, 2020 1:43am ET



The Trump administration wants state labor officials to keep quiet about the exact unemployment numbers as they seek to keep the stock market from plunging further.

An email, obtained Thursday by the New York Times, told state labor officials to “provide information using generalities to describe claims levels (very high, large increase).” The department said it would release the number next Thursday.

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