Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said the historic jump in jobless claims was not a piece of economic data to focus on because it was for a period before government relief was assured. "To be honest with you, I just think these numbers right now are not relevant, whether they are bigger or smaller in the short-term," Mnuchin said, in an interview on CNBC. With the Senate coronavirus relief bill now so close to passage in the House, he hopes that firms start to rehire these workers, he said. As late as last week businesses didn't have another choice except let workers go because they didn't have cash and didn't know that protections would be forthcoming, Mnuchin said.