Washington. The US added 4.8 million non-farm jobs in June as the economy bounced back from the depths of the COVID crisis. Combined with the 2.7 million jobs added in May, the economy has now added back 7.5 million jobs in two months. However, total June employment of 142.2 million is still 14.7 million jobs lower (9.6 percent) than the February pre-COVID level. The unemployment rate in June remained high at 11.1 percent.
The Private Sector Job Quality Index produced by the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) and its partners rose 2.0 percent, to a level of 83.13. This reflects a proportionate increase in the number of high-quality jobs in the US economy since low-quality, low-wage jobs have been hit harder by the COVID crisis.
The leisure and hospitality sector accounted for nearly half (2.1 million) of the total jobs added in June. The majority of those were in the food services and drinking establishments sector, where 1.48 million jobs were added. In the manufacturing sector, 356,000 jobs were added in June, bringing total U.S. manufacturing employment back up to 12.1 million. That figure is still significantly below the June 2019 level of 12.8 million.
“With double-digit unemployment levels and an economy still suffering from shortages of vital health care supplies, it’s time for the Trump administration and Congress to support a massive reshoring program to bring jobs and industries back to the United States,” said CPA Chief Economist Jeff Ferry. “Federal trade figures released today show how dependent we are on pharmaceutical imports from other countries, while snafus in trade have held back US auto production. Now is the time to invest in production, infrastructure, health care, and technology made in the USA.”
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