The latest employment data reported that 4.8 million jobs were added in June; much higher than the 3.2 million expansion that the consensus forecast had anticipated. All told, payrolls have rebounded 7.5 million in the last two months as businesses started to reopen and call back furloughed workers. This means the unemployment rate now sits at 11.1% from the high of 13.3% in May.

 

More positive economic recovery news came from President Trump who told Fox Business News that he does support another round of stimulus payments to Americans and in "larger numbers than Democrats." And his administration, as well as Republican politicians, are considering back-to-work incentives. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) has put out a proposal that would give a $450-a-week bonus for people returning to work. Kevin Brady (R-TX) offered a plan that would turn unemployment benefits into a back-to-work bonus of $1,200.

The stock market responded well with an increase in the Dow 30 of over 200 points and a jump in Nasdaq of over 100 points.

Evaluating the job numbers, the Wells Fargo Economics Group stated, "Employment gains were broad-based. Increases were concentrated in industries that had borne the brunt of the layoffs. Specifically, payrolls rose nearly 2.1 million in June in the leisure & hospitality sector and 740K in the retail sector. Employment among state & local governments... rebounded by 32K last month. In sum, the labor market report was generally stronger than expected, and should be welcomed."