U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross believes the nation’s economy will rebound fairly quickly, after the job losses that took place during recent coronavirus closures.
In an interview with West Palm Beach television station WPEC, Secretary Ross said he thinks the recovery will take place faster than the one that followed the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
“When 2008-2009 came along, the economy had structural problems,” he explained. “When this coronavirus came along, we had no structural problems. We were zooming, the best economy we’ve ever had.”
Ross went on to say that the major factor to reviving the economy is restoring public optimism, which should happen as jobs come back amid a gradual reopening.
👉 @SecretaryRoss toured Maverick Boat Group's 127,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, an $11 million facility opened in 2018, to see how the company builds its Cobia and Pathfinder brands. https://t.co/edPaCdtbpS
— U.S. Commerce Dept. (@CommerceGov) May 30, 2020
“People’s attitude really has to change, and I think what will change the attitude is the reality,” he added. “As the coronavirus statistics get better, people will feel better.”
Sec. Ross toured a boat facility on the Treasure Coast Friday. He also held a roundtable discussion with business leaders from the state’s fishing and boating community, who told him that they are slowly beginning to bounce back from the financial impact of the pandemic.
Afterward, Ross traveled to Indian River State College, where he announced a combined $10 million in grants, $8 million of which will go toward helping businesses that are still recovering from Hurricane Michael. The remaining $2 million will be used to fund a worker training center at the college.