National Economic Council member Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Friday that he continues to expect 4% economic growth this year, despite a headline payroll report that showed U.S. nonfarm payroll employment declined by 92,000 in February. That outturn contrasted with analysts' projections calling for an addition of 58,000 jobs.
Hassett urged observers to avoid placing undue emphasis on single-month employment figures, recommending instead that analysts and policymakers consider averages of the monthly data. He framed this approach as a way to see through volatility inherent in individual monthly reports.
In the same interview, Hassett said the broader economy is experiencing a productivity boom. He suggested that stronger productivity could help reconcile robust output growth with uneven monthly labor-market readings.
On energy policy, Hassett stated that there are no active conversations about a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at this time. He did not indicate any planned changes to current reserve strategy.
Hassett also addressed the subject of tariff refunds. He said market participants should expect large stakeholders to contest the issue through litigation. Beyond courtroom action, he said private parties will determine how any refunds are administered and distributed.
The comments link several policy and market topics - growth expectations, labor-market measurement, energy reserves, and trade-related refunds - under a single interlocutor's forecast and guidance. Taken together, Hassett's remarks highlight his view that headline job volatility does not alter a brighter growth outlook and that policy responses on energy and tariffs are either not underway or likely to play out through legal and private-sector channels.
Article limitations - The reporting here reflects remarks made by the official during a televised interview and focuses strictly on the statements attributed to him about growth expectations, employment data interpretation, productivity, Strategic Petroleum Reserve discussions, and tariff refund mechanisms.