The Trump administration wants state labor officials to keep quiet about the exact unemployment numbers as they seek to keep the stock market from plunging further.

An email, obtained Thursday by the New York Times, told state labor officials to "provide information using generalities to describe claims levels (very high, large increase)." The department said it would release the number next Thursday.

"States should not provide numeric values to the public," Gay Gilbert, the administrator of the department’s Office of Employment Insurance, said in the email.

The news comes as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned that unemployment could hit over 20% if nothing was done to stimulate the economy. The unemployment rate in February was 3.5%, and a 20% jobless rate would be double what is was in the 2008 economic downturn.

The Senate Republicans unveiled a $1,200 direct cash payment to each person making under $75,000 as a stimulus proposal.