White House adviser: payroll data not recessionary

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Keith Hennessey said weak payrolls data released on Friday were "not recessionary" and the U.S. economy would continue to grow in the third quarter.

Hennessey, speaking to CNBC television, said the economy has continued to maintain positive growth this year in the face of shocks from the housing slowdown, financial markets turmoil and high energy prices.

"It's the resilience and flexibility of this economy that gives us the confidence that underlying all of this, it's fundamentally sound, and we think it will continue to grow in the third quarter," said Hennessey, who is the director of U.S. President George W. Bush's National Economic Council.

The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly shot up to 6.1 percent in August, the highest rate in nearly five years, as employers cut payrolls for an eighth straight month and a decline in labor markets accelerated.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by James Dalgleish)