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US Economy Adds 4.8M New Jobs as Unemployment Falls to 11.1%

Ken Bredemeier

   WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June as it
   struggles to recover from the business closures forced by the
   coronavirus pandemic, the government reported Thursday, even as it said
   another 1.4 million laid-off workers filed for unemployment benefits
   last week.

   The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the country's unemployment rate
   improved to 11.1% in June, compared to the official May figure of
   13.3%. But the June figure was compiled at mid-month before a new,
   record-high surge of confirmed coronavirus infections spread across the
   U.S. states that were among the first to reopen their economies.

   WATCH: President Trump's White House press briefing at 9:30a EST

   The reports on job growth and unemployment show the U.S. economy, the
   world's largest, at a crossroad, with pockets of recovery and
   uncertainty. Some businesses, stores, restaurants, gyms and salons are
   making attempts to reopen even as the sharp increase in coronavirus
   infections across the southern tier of the country is forcing some of
   them to reclose again or delay a further return to normal operations.

   In all, 48.4 million workers have sought unemployment compensation
   during the 3 ½ months the coronavirus infections have been recorded in
   the U.S. The jobless rate was near a 50-year low of 3.5% before the
   pandemic landed on U.S. shores.

   Millions of the unemployed have returned to work, but those still left
   without work are facing new financial difficulties, with the national
   government set at the end of July to end its $600-a-week boost to less
   generous state unemployment benefits.

   The number of U.S. workers claiming unemployment compensation has now
   declined for 15 straight weeks, but the most recent four-week average
   was 1.5 million, a stubbornly high figure and one that has stayed
   relatively steady for a month.

   Long recovery
   Key U.S. economic officials are predicting that the country's full
   recovery from the pandemic will take a lengthy period, extending well
   into 2021.

   Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this week that
   immediate path ahead for the U.S. economy remains "extraordinarily
   uncertain." He said the recovery is largely dependent on containing the
   pandemic, but more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases were recorded in
   the U.S. on Wednesday.

   Powell told a congressional committee the economy may be showing signs
   of progress, but cautioned, "While this bounce-back in economic
   activity is welcome, it also presents new challenges -- notably, the
   need to keep the virus in check."

   President Donald Trump says he supports another round of $1,200
   stimulus payments to most taxpayers, even as some of his fellow
   Republicans have voiced concerns about the country's ever-increasing
   national debt that now totals more than $26 trillion.

   No legislative decisions are likely before late July as the White House
   and Congress assess the economic uncertainty and the concurrent spread
   of the virus.