Washington: President Donald Trump said June's better-than-expected jobs report shows a strong rebound from losses due to the coronavirus pandemic even as new cases surge in parts of the US.
"Announcement proves our economy is roaring back," Trump said. He predicted a resurgence just before the November election.
Trump's comments came amid a record daily number of new coronavirus cases and decisions by some states to slow or reverse plans to reopen their economies. Trump, who has come under widespread criticism for his handling of the virus, is trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden in national polls and in key swing states.
The rebound of the US jobs market accelerated in June, as businesses continued to reopen - cheered on by Trump. Payrolls rose by 4.8 million last month and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1 per cent from 13.3 per cent in May.
Economists had forecast payrolls would rise by 3 million and an unemployment rate of 12.5 per cent.
But a price to pay
But those reopenings have been blamed for a resurgence of virus cases in mostly Republican-run states that were quickest to remove stay-at-home orders.
Trump praised his administration's handling of the virus and predicted a "fantastic" third quarter that would help him before voters go to the polls. "The good thing is the numbers will be coming out just prior to the election," Trump said.
A 1929 parallel
Later, at a White House event celebrating products made in the U.S., Trump continued to boast of the jobs numbers, and warned about economic fallout on the scale of the 1929 stock market crash if he's not re-elected.
"You have a chance of the greatest numbers in history, you're almost there," Trump said. But then he warned: "You'll have a crash like you've never seen before, you put the wrong person in office."
Asking for cover
A separate report from the US Labor Department showed that initial applications for state unemployment insurance fell by less than expected, to 1.43 million for the week ending June 27.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who also spoke to reporters at the White House, said he has started negotiations with Democrats and Republicans in Congress over the next economic rescue package, though he said the legislation would be more "targeted" to help struggling businesses.
The legislation could include redirecting roughly $130 billion in unused funds left in the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, Mnuchin said.
The Treasury secretary said the administration is working with schools and universities on their reopening plans for the fall, and educational institutions could also receive stimulus funds in the next package.
"We want to make sure that kids are safe and that if there is money that schools need to spend to safely have people in classrooms, social distance, spread things out, change hours, these are all the things we're looking at," Mnuchin said.
