Trump cheers US economy after June jobs surge despite virus

President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed new data showing huge jobs gains in June, but continued to downplay surging COVID-19 cases that could reverse the tentative recovery. Employers brought 4.8 million people back to work last month, two million in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector, the Labor Department reported, which dropped the jobless rate by two points to 11.1 percent. The new data together with the 2.7 million jobs won back in May means the economy has regained 7.5 million of the more than 22 million jobs lost since mid-March amid the coronavirus pandemic as businesses were closed nationwide to prevent the spread of infections.