How 'Team Trump' sees unemployment and why it matters

Washington

DONALD Trump has long cast a sceptical eye on the official unemployment rate - and this week, both Treasury secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer clarified what the president might mean when he says the jobless figure isn't real.

While they've stopped short of defending Mr Trump's most extreme claims, Mr Mnuchin and Mr Spicer upheld his broader point that headline unemployment understates labour market slack. That's important, because Team Trump's insistence that weakness persists could affect how they view fiscal policy proposals as the new administration takes office.