“You have to take encouragement from what’s happening in the labor force and the job market,” Johnson told “Squawk Box.” “When you look at African-American unemployment, … you’ve never had African-American unemployment this low and the spread between African-Americans and whites narrowing.”

Johnson said that means the jobs market is “soliciting employees who have been out of the labor force, some of it based on discrimination, some of it based on changes in education, access and technology changes.”

CNBC reports:

Additionally, the business environment in the U.S. is also good, Johnson said. “I believe if you take into account the Trump tax cut, you take into account the drop in unemployment, … and you take into account that interest rates are fairly stable” the economy is going to grow, he said.

“I believe the economy is on a strong growth path,” he added.

President Trump tweeted out the about the very favorable Johnson interview:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/982353242196766720

President Donald Trump has touted the black unemployment rate both on Twitter and his State of the Union address in January. Critics say Trump can’t take full credit because black unemployment had been on the decline before Trump took office.

Johnson has said he has known Trump for years. Johnson met with the then president-elect in 2016 and said he believes the president wants to work with African-Americans and all Americans to boost the economy.