Mike Pence claims promising US job figures mean 'recovery starts today'

Most economists had predicted unemployment of at least 20 per cent as White House takes a victory lap and US stock markets soar

Vice President Mike Pence made clear the White House feels emboldened by surprising jobs data released Friday, saying "this recovery starts today" and signalling the administration feels it has new leverage over Democrats in talks about another economic recovery package.

"The policies of Joe Biden, the policies of Democrats in Congress," he said on CNBC, would erode what he called "the solid foundation that President laid" during his term. Mr Pence said the White House now would push harder for provisions like a payroll tax cut -- which even some congressional Republicans oppose -- in any additional coronavirus recovery package Congress might send to Mr Trump's desk. He accused the former vice president and Capitol Hill Democrats of wanting to raise taxes, launch a "war on coal" and enact their pricey "Green New Deal," which he and other administration officials say would collectively put an anchor on the American economy, which had been solid before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The jobs May report released Friday morning by the Labor Department was expected by experts and Trump administration officials to show an increase from the previous unemployment rate (14.7 per cent) in April. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted sharp declines in workers experiencing temporary layoffs, or furloughs, in businesses that were forced to close or reduce staff during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Employment rose across the hospitality and construction industries as states began to reopen across the country throughout May. Education and health services, as well as retail trade and leisure also saw significant hiring increases.

As Mr Pence spoke on the business-focused network, US stock indexes soared. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up over 700 points in less than one hour of trading by 10:18 a.m., even with 1.8m known coronavirus cases in the US and over 108,000 deaths.

Mr Pence was asked about talks towards another Covid-19 economic recovery bill with House and Senate Democrats, and he said the White House will insist on pro-growth policies even though negotiations have stalled. Many legislators say the two chambers might not pass a bill until right before lawmakers' August recess, or perhaps after.

"President Donald Trump believes in order to keep this recovery moving ... we need pro-growth polciies," Mr Pence said, insisting administration officials are prepared to "roll up our sleeves" and re-start talks with Democrats.

A loyal ally to his boss, Mr Pence credited the "decisive action from January forward" that the president took, including banning some travellers from China from entering the United States, "mitigation efforts," federal aid dollars that went to individuals and familieis, and White House-issued recommendations for states to re-open in phases . More than 3trn for families and small businesses.

"It's all working," he contended. "We're seeing it."

This White House, like all White Houses no matter whether a Republican or Democrat is the commander in chief, rarely gets too high or low about any one jobs report.

But with Mr Pence's CNBC interview and Mr Trump announcing a 10 a.m. press conference on the jobs data, this one is prepped to take a long victory lap after months of dismal economic figures.

Mr Trump is keen to run on a strong economy before the pandemic and a recovering one as it, perhaps, begins to subside on US soil.

President Donald Trump celebrated the news on Friday morning, writing in a series of tweets: "Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!"

Tagging a Fox Business anchor, the president added: "THESE NUMBERS ARE INCREDIBLE!"

Nonfarm payrolls jumped up by more than 2.5 million jobs -- a gain that shocked most analysts after more than 20 million Americans reported a loss of work in April.

–Chris Riotta contributed to this report

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