America’s labor market defied forecasts, with payrolls rising by 2.5 million in May, according to numbers provided by the Trump administration. In April, 20.7 million jobs were lost, the largest drop going back to 1939. While the overall grim picture improved slightly, there are still major caveats: a stunning 21 million Americans remain unemployed, with a jobless rate higher than at any time since 1940. And the return to work is uneven, with unemployment jumping among African Americans to 16.8%, the highest it’s been since 1984. —Josh Petri

Bloomberg is mapping the pandemic globally and across America. For the latest news, sign up for our Covid-19 podcast and daily newsletter.

Here are today’s top stories

Even with the surprise jobs report, there’s still an excellent chance America blows it, Conor Sen writes in Bloomberg Opinion. The country needs a lot more fiscal stimulus for a full recovery, he said.

States and cities lost more jobs in the past two months than they did after the last recession, underscoring the deep financial strain facing local governments after surging unemployment and business closures.

New York City is under increasing pressure to end its curfew, as more peaceful protesters are injured by police. While Americans protest police violence and looting has largely subsided, the New York Police Department has been enforcing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 8 p.m. curfew by beating and pepper-spraying demonstrators. De Blasio, who on Friday dismissed questions about NYPD brutality, has been called on to resign. In upstate New York, Buffalo police left a 75-year-old man bleeding from a head wound after pushing him to the pavement. A spokesperson for the Buffalo Police Department falsely claimed the man tripped, despite viral video showing he was suddenly shoved by police. Meanwhile in Minneapolis, where George Floyd’s death sparked national unrest, officials agreed to ban police chokeholds and require coworkers to stop them. In the nation’s capital, Mayor Muriel Bowser asked President Donald Trump to withdraw troops from her city, and renamed a street near the White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” Here’s the latest.

Latin America is the new epicenter for Covid-19, with regional cases topping 1.1 million and the curve only getting steeper. Brazil and Mexico are posting among the fastest infection rates and logging daily death records. Viral illness is also rising in Peru, Colombia, Chile and Bolivia. The Middle East is showing troubling signs of a spike in cases as well. In America, fears of a catastrophic second wave are growing as social distancing measures wane. Here’s the latest.

The White House’s coronavirus task force has all but vanished from public view, but the virus hasn’t. At least 108,000 Americans have died in the outbreak, which Trump once claimed would “go away without a vaccine.” The panel gave daily briefings from early March to late April before being reduced to weekly close-door meetings with Vice President Mike Pence. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the government, hasn’t spoken publicly at the White House since April 29. In his last task force news conference, he cautioned that the country must “proceed in a very careful, measured way” to reopen.

Trump’s reelection bid is on the defensive, as surveys show Former Vice President Joe Biden pulling further ahead in battleground states.

Trump’s political instincts may not just endanger his own campaign, but those of fellow vulnerable Republicans. Trump went ahead with a trip to Maine on Friday—where he called the state’s Democratic governor “a dictator”—despite concerns the visit would hurt the reelection bid of embattled Republican Senator Susan Collins.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• Biden slams Trump for economic “crowing” with 13.3% joblessness.
• Day traders are making the most bullish bets in nine years.
• Reddit co-founder resigns from board, urges black replacement.
• Lawmakers in eight countries form new alliance to counter China.
• Amazon’s automated HR department leaves workers in virus limbo.
• There’s an art to putting wind turbines in the windiest possible spot.
• For an extra $115, you can skip quarantine during Iceland vacation.

What you’ll want to read tonight in Bloomberg Green

The Climate Case for a Jobs Guarantee

Let’s start with some facts: Weekly U.S. unemployment numbers have been reaching seven digits. There’s a major-party presidential candidate out there right now calling for a public jobs corps consisting of 100,000 health workers. And there’s also an economic case for a full-employment vision expressed by modern monetary theory. While critics would argue that there may not be enough work for anyone, Kim Stanley Robinson argues that on a warming, carbon-clogged planet, there’s always more work to be done than people to do it. 

Photographer: Illustration: Viktor Hachmang for Bloomberg Green

Photographer: Illustration: Viktor Hachmang for Bloomberg Green

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