The daily business briefing: June 4, 2020

1. Report: Private companies cut 2.8 million jobs in May

U.S. companies cut another 2.8 million jobs in May, ADP reported Wednesday. The total was far below the 8.8 million lost positions economists expected, suggesting the historic employment crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic was easing as businesses started to reopen. "The good news is ... the COVID-19 recession is over, barring another second wave," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which produces the private payrolls report with ADP. The bad news, he said, is that "the recovery will be a slog until there's a vaccine or therapy that's distributed and adopted widely." The Labor Department is expected to report Thursday that new jobless claims fell below 2 million last week for the first time since mid-March.

CNBC Reuters

2. Walmart removes guns from stores as unrest continues

Walmart announced Wednesday that it was moving firearms and ammunition off of sales floors in some U.S. stores "out of an abundance of caution" as unrest continues over the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in police custody last week. "Those items are available for purchase, but are being stored in a secure room," the biggest U.S. retailer said in a statement. Walmart doesn't sell guns in many of the major cities that have faced outbursts of looting since Floyd's death. The company stopped selling ammunition for handguns and some assault-style rifles in U.S. stores in 2019.

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Reuters

3. Stock futures suggest pause in rally fueled by reopenings

U.S. stock index futures edged down early Thursday, signaling a possible pause in a rally fueled by hopes of an economic rebound as states reopen their economies. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq were all down by 0.1 percent to 0.4 percent several hours before the opening bell. All three of the main U.S. indexes surged on Wednesday. The Dow closed up by 2.1 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 1.4 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. "May could well end up being the turning point for the viral crisis. The month ended with the virus seemingly under control and with the economy reopening faster than expected," wrote Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network.

CNBC

4. 3 Amazon warehouse workers sue over coronavirus risks

Three Amazon warehouse employees on Wednesday filed a lawsuit accusing the online retail giant of subjecting them to working conditions that put them at risk of coronavirus infection. One of the workers, Barbara Chandler, says she was infected in March at Amazon's Staten Island, New York, distribution center. She said employees there were pushed to continue working, and "prevented from adequately washing their hands or sanitizing their workstations." The lawsuit says Chandler's cousin, whom she lived with, suffered COVID-19 symptoms and died. Amazon said it was reviewing the complaint, and was "saddened" by the impact of the pandemic. The company said it had invested $4 billion from April to June to protect workers with measures including temperature checks, masks, gloves, and enhanced cleaning.

Bloomberg MarketWatch

5. Service sector shrinks for 2nd straight month

The U.S. service sector contracted in May for the second straight month, according to a report released Wednesday by the Institute for Supply Management. As business shutdowns and layoffs continued due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ISM's service sector index came in at 45.4 in May, up from 41.8 in April but still significantly below the 50 level that marks the threshold between shrinking and growth. The April drop ended an expansion that lasted more than 10 years. "While some sectors appear to be recovering fairly rapidly as lockdowns have been eased," said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, the ISM non-manufacturing index is the latest sign that "it will take longer for the wider economy to recover."

The Associated Press