(June 5, 2020, 6:37 p.m. EST) The Covid-19 epidemic surprised the world again Friday morning, when the Labor Department announced 2.5 million jobs were created in May. According to Yardeni Economic Research, an independent economic research firm to institutional investors, Wall Street had expected a loss of 4.25 million jobs in May.
Through the end of April, the economy lost a stunning 20.6 million. The additional jobs losses that had been expected would have made the epidemic the biggest job killer since The Great Depression of 1929.
The May unemployment rate had been expected by Wall Street to rise to 19.7%, from 14.7% in April. It dropped to 13.3%!
The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) closed at 3,193.93, up 4.8% from last week and 35.2% from the March 23rd bear market low.The index had gained 3% a week earlier and 3.2% the week before.
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