U.S. Production to Contract up to 30 Percent in the Next Quarter

The White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett announced that the U.S. economy will contract between 20 percent and 30 percent in the second quarter of this year as a result of measures taken to curb the COVID-19.

In an interview with the CNBC financial network held on Monday night, he said that the fall in Gross Domestic Product  (GDP) between April and June will be the worst economic contraction experienced since the Great Depression of 1929.

According to the former director of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), the GDP figures for the first quarter, which will be published this Wednesday, will also be negative.

For the third quarter, this adviser to the Donald Trump Administration is confident that a "quite positive" trend will be seen as activity picks up.

Hassett also announced that the unemployment rate in April could reach 17 percent, shooting up from the 4.4 percent registered in March as the effects of the pandemic are felt in the country's businesses.

According to the latest data, more than 26 million workers have applied for unemployment benefits over the last five weeks.

Analysts calculate that the unemployment rate could have already reached almost 18 percent, a strong contrast with the situation that existed until February when the U.S. unemployment rate was around 3.5 percent, the lowest figure in half a century.