( CNN ) Labor Secretary Tom Perez said Saturday he believes the U.S. economy can `` recover quickly '' from the months-long labor dispute that has crippled ports along the West Coast but acknowledged business owners across the country have already suffered losses . Perez helped broker a tentative contract agreement on Friday between dockworkers and their employers after President Barack Obama dispatched him to San Francisco this week . In an interview with CNN hours after the deal , Perez said he 's spoken to many business owners whose livelihoods took a hit because of the protracted dispute . `` I 'm ever mindful of the fact that there certainly has been some damage done , '' Perez said . `` If you talk to the citrus farmers whose citrus rotted on the port , that 's damage that has been done . '' Perez added , however , that he believes the conflict was resolved before it could do more permanent damage to country 's 2015 economic outlook . `` 2014 was the best year since the late 90s in terms of job growth and we see a real hop in the step of this economy , '' he said . `` I think in the grand scheme , I 'm confident that we can recover quickly . '' Contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association , which represents shipping companies and port operators , and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union , which represents dock workers on the West Coast , started in May . The two parties were unable to come to an agreement and have been without a contract since July . The standoff has been a nightmare for U.S. businesses that use the West Coast ports to import and export their goods . For weeks , vessels carrying thousands of containers have been sitting on the waterfront waiting to be loaded or unloaded , and the problem grew exponentially worse when the PMA temporarily stopped all loading and unloading of ships this month . The heads of the PMA and ILWU hailed the agreement as `` good for workers and for the industry '' in a joint statement Friday . `` We are also pleased that our ports can now resume full operations , '' they said . Analysts say the process of clearing the ports of the existing congestion could take weeks , if not months . Perez , who has been labor secretary since 2013 , told CNN that playing mediator in the West Coast ports dispute was `` among the most difficult '' challenges he has faced so far in office . `` Helping to facilitate resolution involves the development of mutual trust and so I had to do that and I had to do it fast because I did n't have the luxury of time , '' he said .
Tom said to CNN : Port strike ' n't do permanent damage to us . CNN : ' I ' m confident that we can recover quickly '