WASHINGTON: Presi­dent Joe Biden on Friday cheered the “historic” US rebound from the Covid-19 crisis as the economy gained 850,000 new jobs in June, cementing the evidence of a broad recovery.

The uptick was better than expected and came after two months of disappointing results, with big increases in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector, the Labour Department said in its closely-watched monthly report.

With the latest gains, the world’s largest economy has added 3.3 million jobs in the first six months of the year.

“This is historic progress, pulling our economy out of the worst crisis in 100 years,” Biden said at the White House.

The Democratic president credited the massive American Rescue Plan approved in March and the rapid acceleration of vaccinations as factors fueling the economic revival.

“Our economy is on the move and we have Covid-19 on the run,” Biden said, though he acknowledged there is more work to do.

The unemployment rate last month ticked up to 5.9 per cent from 5.8pc in May, the data showed, and the jobless rate for Black workers rose a tenth of a point to 9.2pc.

Economist Joseph Brus­uelas of RSM US noted on Twitter: “We remain 6.8 million jobs short of where we were in Feb 2020. Still 5 million short in services, so that is where the focus will be going forward.”

As the United States has brought the pandemic under control, hotels and restaurants have reopened and hired at a rapid pace, adding 343,000 positions last month, the report said. However, the sector is still short 2.2 million jobs from February 2020.

Education gained 230,000 positions at the state and local government level, while manufacturing gained 15,000, but construction lost jobs.

“While today’s report was shy of the coveted 1-million mark, it paints a picture of a steadily recovering jobs market,” said Lydia Boussour of Oxford Economics.

While she noted that many companies continue to report difficulties finding people to fill open positions, she said the strong performance “is likely the start of a series of stellar reports that will underpin the strongest US economic performance since 1951 this year”.

The labour shortage also is driving wages higher, with average hourly earnings rising by 10 cents to $30.40 in June, following larger increases in May and April, the report said.

Biden said that dynamic tips the balance of power in favour of workers and “gives them the power to demand to be treated with dignity and respect.”

But the struggle to find workers as businesses reopen has become a political issue, with Republicans blaming the generous federal jobless benefits as keeping potential hires on the sidelines. As a result, 22 state governments have terminated supplemental unemployment benefits early and another four states have announced plans to follow suit, although some face legal challenges. The extra benefits expire in Septe­mber.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2021