Economy adds 4.8 million jobs in June, surpassing expectations as coronavirus lingers

The U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department, as the gradual easing of coronavirus-related restrictions helped more businesses reopen and bring back workers.

The unemployment rate also fell to 11.1 percent last month, according to the report, as more workers who were laid off earlier this year were able to return to their pre-pandemic jobs.

Economists expected the U.S. to add anywhere between 1 and 3 million jobs for the month after the U.S. added 2.7 million in May, according to revised figures, despite widespread predictions of another decline.

Despite the rising job numbers, surging coronavirus cases across the South and Sun Belt have already slowed the pace of the rebound in many states, according to recent data.

A more current indicator, weekly initial unemployment claims remained elevated at historic levels. For the week ending June 25, new claims came in at 1.43 million, down from 1.48 million the previous week. The figure, while continuing a steady downward trend, was also well above the 1.38 million economists were expecting.

The June jobs report also showed troubling signs of the blow of recession spreading far beyond the industries hardest hit by businesses closures and social distancing orders.

The number of U.S. workers who permanently lost their jobs climbed in June by 588,000 to a total of 2.8 million. The number of workers who've been jobless for at least 15 weeks also rose by 825,000 and those who have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks rose by 227,000.

The June job numbers came after the ADP Research Institute and Moody’s Analytics reported Wednesday that private businesses added nearly 2.4 million workers to their payrolls last month.