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Companies Added 2.4 Million Jobs in June: Survey

Hong Kong Leader Addresses UN Human Rights Council as Criticism Mounts Over Beijing’s Security Law

“We are deeply concerned by unconfirmed reports that Beijing has passed the national security law,” said British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, according to Reuters. “This would be a grave step.” He added: “Once we have seen the full legislation, we will make a further statement.” Charles Michel, president of the European Union Council, told reporters after his video summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, “We deplore the decision,” Reuters reported. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the bloc was discussing with “international partners” on potential measures in response to Beijing’s encroachment into Hong Kong’s judicial system. According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kim In-chul said at a press briefing that the Moon government was “paying keen attention and watching the trend closely with…

Companies Added 2.4 Million Jobs in June: Survey

WASHINGTON鈥擴.S. companies added nearly 2.4 million jobs in June, according to a private survey, a large gain that still leaves total employment far below its pre-pandemic levels.

The payroll company ADP said Wednesday that small businesses reported the biggest increase, adding 937,000 jobs. Among industries, construction firms, restaurants and hotels, and retailers posted large gains in hiring.

Yet according to ADP’s data, the economy still has 14.3 million fewer jobs than it did in February, before the viral outbreak intensified.

鈥淲e鈥檝e obviously got into a big hole here because of the pandemic and are just trying to claw our way out,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. Moody’s helps compile the ADP data for its monthly reports.

Companies Added 2.4 Million Jobs in June: Survey A now hiring sign is posted in the window of a CVS store in San Francisco, Calif., on June 7, 2019. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Still, the economy remains under pressure from the pandemic, as new spikes of the coronavirus in several southern and western states have forced some to pause their reopenings and impose new closures of bars and other businesses. That could slow hiring in the coming months.

On Thursday, the government will release the official jobs figures for June, which are projected to show that employers added 3 million jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 12.3 percent, down from 13.3 percent in May. Both those rates are among the highest the United States has seen since the Great Depression.

ADP does not include government jobs in its report and often diverges from the Labor Department’s data.

By Christopher Rugaber

Focus News: Companies Added 2.4 Million Jobs in June: Survey

Hong Kong Protests Continue Despite Beijing Passing National Security Law

In Hong Kong, local activists are calling on people to take to the streets on July 1 to protest against Beijing’s national security law despite a police ban on the gathering. Several local activists including Figo Chan, vice convenor of local pro-democracy group Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF); Wu Chai-wai, chairman of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party; district councilors Tsang Kin-shing and Andy Chui; and lawmaker Eddie Chu, held a press conference at noon on Tuesday. Together they said they will be the organizers of a march from Causeway Bay to the city’s Central district on Wednesday afternoon after police rejected two applications—one from CHRF and another other from Chui—to hold a rally on July 1, the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China in 1997. CHRF, which has…