NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Discouraging words from Washington today on the nation's economy. The president's top adviser says it does not appear the economy will get the boost it desperately needs anytime soon. CNN White House correspondent Major Garrett joins us now with more about it -- Major?</s>MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Natalie, this morning I had a chance to sit down with the president's top economic adviser, Laurence Lindsey. He is the director of the National Economic Council. We talked about 30 minutes off camera, and he said that would not at all be surprised that if later on this summer, August, maybe in September, the unemployment rate could rise to 5 percent. It's currently at 4 1/2 percent. Even worse, he said, the unemployment rate could rise even higher. Why? He said the economy is still sluggish. Corporate profits continue to sag. There is almost zero corporate investment, and because of that, unemployment will continue to be a problem. He hopes the business cycle will get better in the fourth quarter. He did not predict any solid numbers for GDP growth in the third or fourth quarter, although he said he is hopeful that growth in the third quarter could be about 1 percent, maybe as high as 2 percent on the fourth quarter. But he did said the American public should prepare itself for higher unemployment rates. The key question there is if those higher unemployment rates do come, will that discourage consumer spending? The one hope this White House has, that is the tax rebates that are due to hit 96 million American taxpayers starting at the middle of this month -- if in fact those tax rebates do encourage consumer spending, Mr. Lindsey said that could give the economy a much-needed boost. But if consumers a fearful from those higher unemployment numbers and draw back, problems could get worse -- Natalie.</s>ALLEN: All right. We'll wait and see what the future holds. Thanks. Major Garrett from Washington.
White House Says Economy Will Remain Sluggish