- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. regained 2.5 million jobs in May and the unemployment rate fell to 13.3%. As states began lifting COVID-related restrictions, employment rebounded by 464,000 in construction, by 368,000 in retail, by 225,000 in manufacturing and by 312,000 in the healthcare sector. Bars and restaurants, hit hardest by the pandemic, recovered 1.4 million workers.
- While daily new cases are slowly trending downward in the U.S., from over 25,000 per day on average a month ago to around 20,000 today, several states are seeing sustained increases in daily new cases. California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Utah are among those in this category.
- While states grapple with increases in COVID-19 cases, it is unlikely any will re-impose stay-at-home restrictions or re-order closure of non-essential businesses. Going forward, most states and businesses will require or strongly encourage the use of face masks.
Latest global updates:
- New Zealand announced that the country moved to alert Level 1 on 9 June, effectively ending all internal restrictions, including social distancing measures, after authorities declared the country COVID-free. Only overseas travel and border restrictions will remain in place.
- As of 08 June, most travelers arriving to the United Kingdom by plane, ferry or train will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
- Peruvian authorities extended the nationwide state of health emergency, which includes curfews, from 10 June by 90 days.
- Brazil's outbreak continues to worsen. There are now nearly 750,000 confirmed cases. Brazil reinstated COVID-19 case information to a public website after a ruling by a Supreme Court justice ordered the government to restore the counts.
- India's outbreak continues to worsen. There are nearly 10,000 new cases reported each day and nearly 300,000 total cases. This likely vastly underestimates the true number of cases due to low testing rates.
What we know:
- Over 7,350,000 confirmed cases worldwide
- 414,000 deaths
- Over 3,600,000 recovered
OUTLOOK
Brazil, Mexico, Russia, India and the U.S. continue to be global hotspots. In particular, Mexico, Brazil, and India have extremely low testing rates, indicating a much larger outbreak in their respective countries. Concerns remain over a second wave of outbreaks in countries initially hit by the pandemic, such as Iran and Japan. All eyes are on Europe as many countries open their borders to intra-European travel in the hopes of spurring tourism.
