US job growth roars back, but Covid-19 resurgence spells trouble ahead

Record spikes in new coronavirus infections in large parts of the country, including the highly-populated states of California, Florida and Texas, have forced several states to scale back reopenings

The US economy created jobs at a record clip in June as more restaurants and bars reopened, but 31.5 million Americans were collecting unemployment checks in the middle of the month, and a resurgence in Covid-19 cases suggested the labor market could suffer a setback in July.

Record spikes in new coronavirus infections in large parts of the country, including the highly-populated states of California, Florida and Texas, have forced several states to scale back or pause reopenings, and send some workers back home.

The flare-up in the respiratory illness, which started in late June and hit bars and restaurants hard, was