Unemployment dropped to 11.1 percent from 13.3 percent the month before.

The shutdowns sent unemployment on a roller coaster ride as the rate spiked to 14.7 percent in April from 3.5 percent in February. Since then, the economy has been recovering.

The measurement of the unemployment rate continued to be biased lower by people incorrectly misclassifying themselves as being “employed but absent from work” last month. The unemployment rate would have been 12.1 percent without the misclassification problem, the BLS said.

Hiring in June was boosted by the typically low-paying leisure and hospitality industry, which added 2.1 million jobs, accounting for about two-fifths of the gains in payrolls. The return of these workers pushed down average wages by 1.2 percent in June. . . .

The unemployment rate dropped the most for Hispanics (to 14.5 percent from 17.6 percent), then whites (to 10.1 percent from 12.4 percent), followed by blacks (to 15.4 percent from 16.8 percent) and Asians (to 13.8 percent from 15 percent). . . .

He emphasized, though, that the economists are predicting a major recovery in the third quarter.

Regarding the rising numbers of virus cases in some areas, Mnuchin said the states are “acting appropriately” by pausing the reopening of “more contagious” settings such as bars and gyms. . . .

Average hourly earnings at private companies fell 1.2 percent to $29.39 in June. For rank-and-file workers specifically, hourly earnings declined 0.9 percent to $24.74.

The reason wasn’t so much that employers imposed pay cuts. Rather, the workers who were rehired in June at bars, restaurants, and other such establishments disproportionately work in lower-paying occupations. . . .

U.S. stocks rallied on the employment data. The dollar was steady against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury yields fell. . . .

There were 31.5 million people collecting unemployment checks in mid-June. Of those, over 17 million collected the standard state benefits and nearly 13 million the special pandemic-related benefits. . . .

Jay Bryson, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities, voiced similar worries.

“With the number of COVID-19 cases accelerating and some states delaying re-opening or imposing new restrictions, we are concerned that a significant number of individuals may become furloughed again,“ he said in a research report. “The outsized gains in payrolls that were registered in May and June likely won’t be repeated in the next few months.”

(Excerpt from The Epoch Times. Written by Petr Svab.)

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