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President George W. Bush's chief economist pays less attention to the U.S. unemployment rate when it rises than he does when it falls.

“I don't focus too much on the monthly unemployment rate because it has been a bit volatile,'' Edward Lazear, chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, said in a Bloomberg Television interview today after the government reported an increase in the jobless rate in March.

That contrasts with Lazear's comments last month following a report that joblessness fell in February. Then, he said “what we do tend to place more weight on is the unemployment rate because the unemployment rate is not volatile.''

Lazear's latest remarks followed a Labor Department report earlier today that showed U.S. employers cut 80,000 jobs in March and unemployment rose to 5.1 percent, from 4.8 percent a month earlier. By historical standards, Lazear said joblessness isn't that high.

“Even at 5.1 percent, I would point out that that is still a historically low rate of unemployment, well below the average for the 90s, which was 5.8 percent, so we still have a decent labor market,'' he said.

He added, “obviously we don't like to see negative job growth.''

At a White House press briefing March 7, Lazear said “the unemployment rate number tends to be pretty stable,'' and added that February's rate of 4.8 percent was “still at a very low level of unemployment.''

Labor Market Expert

Lazear, a Stanford University labor market economist, said the Bush administration's forecast for the economy to accelerate in the second half of the year is on target after little growth in the first half cash advance.

“I don't think we're unrealistic at all,'' he said. In the first half, “what we're expecting is growth rates that are close to zero — slightly positive perhaps, slightly negative perhaps.''

Other members of the Bush administration remained optimistic.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said in a separate Bloomberg Television interview that she doesn't believe the economy is in a recession. The unemployment rate is “still quite low,'' she said.

Phillip Swagel, the assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy, told reporters at a briefing today “we know it's a slowdown. We have a very realistic view of the economy.''

Swagel cited “flat'' personal income and spending, “negative'' job growth, rising unemployment and weakness in manufacturing. Asked if he agreed with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's view earlier this week that a recession is possible, Swagel replied, “Sure.''

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