caroline: from bloomberg world headquarters in new york, i am caroline hyde. romaine bostick is in boston, the s&p 500 to record. joe: the question is, "what'd you miss?" caroline: strong u.s. jobs data leading to a strong showing for stocks in the second have the air and the s&p 500 hitting

seven straight session of record highs, something we have not seen since 1997. u.s. hiring accelerating in june. one of the hopes on this recovery as it will be more equal and will not leave parts of the economy behind. the labor force for adult black men rose to a record in june but still black men over 28 having the highest and a plumber rate of all races and gender groups. we dig into the equality issue on various levels throughout this report. joe: reasons for optimism, picking up the pace of hiring, but concerns remain, pockets of weakness. let's listen to what some of our guests had to say throughout the day on bloomberg. >> 850,000 jobs gained in one months is a solid number. >> for every positive thing you

point to their something less positive. >> i am more enthusiastic about this data. yes i think our mix points to this, you have to step back and put perspective. >> you see more people looking for work, growth and hospitality, leisure, restaurants. it shows president biden's economic plan is certainly working. >> it is fed would -- it is mixed which means the fed will look and take away and see approach. >> it could add even more if there was not this constraint on the growth in jobs at the moment which is the labor shortage. >> there is a little but here for everybody. the survey was mixed and weak. i think federal reserve officials can see what they want to see on this report. joe: joining us now, valerie wilson, director of the program on race, ethnicity and the economy, at the economic policy institute. thank you for joining us and before we get into specific details of the report, we know

one of the stated priorities of the a ministration and the fed, is that they want to see job gains truly spread widely, that we do not have this disparity, a situation in which we declare victory on full employment because my headline number well black unemployment is significantly below white unemployment -- cigna can the above white an appointment. how -- because the head -- because of ahead line number but where black on a plumbing is higher than white unemployment. -- where black unemployment is higher than white unemployment. >> overall we see a strong report indicating the recovery is on track. yet there is clear unevenness in the pace of recovery i race and ethnicity. the black unemployment rate is still by any measure at what we consider a recession level of unemployment at 9.2%. and while the unemployment level of all racial and ethnic groups

has been cut in half elective to this time last year, that is not true of the black unemployment rate. caroline: the administration is federal reserve having a focus on it. practically speaking in your work, what policies need to be put in place to ensure yes, we see shrinking the gap between black men and white men, in terms of those in the labor force? and we do not just shrink the gap but you actually get people back into the workforce at more record highs? >> i think part of what we are seeing now in terms of the uneven recovery has to do with occupational segregation. the fact that black workers and other workers are not evenly distributed across occupations or industries in the economy. so when we have an uneven recession like the one we have seen, that has a disproportionate impact in leisure and hospitality specifically, but in lower paying sectors in general, the

fact that black workers are more likely to be in those jobs slows the recovery on that front. i think the most important thing we can do is get to a full recovery as quickly as possible. we want a robust recovery, and one that currently indicates we are on track to get back to pre-covid rates of unemployment by the end of next year. but even at that point, we still have significant 2:1 rates of disparity in unemployment. now we not further requires closer's emanation of why the disparities are there and crafting policy, and other kinds of efforts and practices, to begin to illuminate those gaps. joe: so you look back and say the middle of 2019, and it was impressive by historical standards, the rate at which black unemployment had dropped and the spread between black and white unemployment. but it was at the end of a tenure recovery, so it took us

10 years to get there -- and of a 10 year recovery so it took us 10 years to get there. what does it take to have that be the norm, as opposed to a brief thing that happens at the end of a long recovery, and then the fed starts hiking again? >> i think we can learn from when the conditions were to -- when we finally got to the point. it requires a consistently strong labor market. it requires vigilance in the economy in terms of being aware and mindful of disparities. not just in employment but also in terms of wage disparities. in terms of occupational segregation i mentioned. we want to make sure all workers have an opportunity to fully participate in this economy at their fullest potential. caroline: let's talk about that it is a longer-term perspective. we see the recovery in the here and now and hopefully, going

into 2022. we then talk of the longer-term issues, technological innovation, maybe leisure and hospitality are the most impacted. if suddenly breece does are not needed -- suddenly baristas are not needed because we are getting coffee from robots, what is it in the policy now to make sure we do not have the inequality in the types of jobs people of color have? that latina women have versus white women? is the right policy in place to make sure is not generational change, that you can have the change within 5-10 years? >> i think it all starts with being vigilant, being aware of where the gaps and disparities exist, and being intentional in how we address those disparities. one thing i think is important with regard to patterns representative of labor market

discrimination, is making sure there is rigorous, consistent ability to enforce our antidiscrimination laws that have been on the books for decades. that, combined with full employment, a type labor market -- a tight labor market, and workers having the ability to organize and join unions and collectively bargain for better wages and benefits and observed working conditions -- and improved working conditions, will help in the long-term. those have to be consistent and long -- and ongoing policies in our economy. joe: obviously the headline job creation coming in better than expected. do you feel even though 2019 was good by historical standards, but still not sufficient, are we on pace to get the? >> when we look -- to get there? >> in the last three months we

are averaging 567,000 jobs per month, slightly ahead of pace, for returning to pre-covid-19 rates of unemployment by the end of 2022. caroline: do you worry about the participation rate, the long-term unemployed number taking up a bit? >> that is one of the concerns i recognize in this month's report. despite the positive outlook on the overall pace of the recovery, we do see increasing numbers of long-term unemployed. almost one third of unemployed workers are those who have been unemployed for a year. so that is something to continue to keep our eyes on, and that is just. -- and not just in the aggregate, but across race, ethnicity, and gender, making sure across each of those workers are having adequate and sufficient opportunities to

rejoin the labor force and participate. caroline: intentional policymaking. valerie wilson from the economic policy institute. businesses are picking up the pace of hiring but maybe excluding millions of capable candidates because of a criminal record. we speak with one ceo on how the company is trying to change that. this is bloomberg. ♪

joe: we continue our conversation about u.s. jobs during the recovery. companies hoping to bring back all types of records and some

candidates are being overlooked. joining us, one company looking to change that. what you see is the scope of the problem? how severe is it? >> thank you for having me, great to be here. i think it is a big reason. we talk about the gap of how many jobs are open and high on appointment. one factor we forget -- high unemployment. one factor we forget his criminal records. -- one factor that we forget, his criminal records. -- is criminal records. i do think there's a huge opportunity for employers to rethink how they do background checks. checkr can help them do that. caroline: how do they do that?

i understand you're expunging for free. but 1000 individuals is a drop in the ocean of 77 million. how do you decide what cannot be shown to an employer? >> there are two things we can do to help. first, at checkr, we are investing in a nonprofit way in helping people expunge criminal records and we launched a website to help americans expunge a criminal record. record. -- 1000 to get started our hope is we can help millions clear a criminal record. the older ones. we are working with employers to change hiring practices to be more mindful and open to a

criminal record. we can do this by looking at old policies and be more open. for example, we are working with customers who are potentially region -- rejecting people with old marijuana violations. those minor crimes are not that relevant to the job and it is now legal in many states. with those kind of changes we can help employers put into place. this gives them access to thousands of qualified workers, for example. joe: do employers need to change the first screen or filter, when putting out help-wanted positions or posting jobs? i imagine a lot of the first-round is automated particularly for large companies. check a box. automatically you don't have a college education, out. have a criminal record come out.

do employers need to rethink that so they are not automatically disqualify people off the bat? >> definitely. having the criminal question box is now illegal early in the process in many states, for a good reason that it rejects people before they have a chance to share their story or interview for the position. so whether they are removing those early boxes or flags is a way to increase your bundle of applicants. and once employers do interview the person, they can look at the information and interview the candidate about their past. they may realize with checkr hiring tens of thousands of people with criminal records you'll get people who are motivated to work hard and be successful. caroline: daniel, what industries and companies are already doing this and seeing

dividends from doing so? >> it is still early. i would say we are at the beginning of companies getting comfortable with opening their policies and being a bit more progressive here. we are seeing a lot of success with the food and restaurant industry. in the gig economy we have company starting to be more open. definitely in technology as well. it also aligns well with diversity, equity, and inclusion priorities and initiatives for many fortune 500 companies. if you want to make sure to give opportunities to black and hispanic and underrepresented minorities, thinking about their record is needed. joe: how does someone who has a criminal record find you? >> go to checkr.com. joe: i mean, how did they learn about you in the first place?

what is the filter through which you reach out to the people who can use your services the most? >> we work with businesses and provide background check services. we are the u.s. leader for background check software. candidates come to us through job applications with the employer they go to. then we have a lot of free services and websites to help consumers, to delete background information. and now we are offering a service so consumers can better understand their background and see if there's a possibility to clear old records. it is on checkr.com and we are getting access to more and more candidates coming to us. we have a lot of partners, government and nonprofit as well, working with us to help create opportunities for people. caroline: they do so much for bringing us the story. meanwhile, coming up, we will

move our attention from the labor market now and talk about the celebration to come. the boston pops returns for a fourth spectacular this weekend. we talk with the conductor about the event. in the outlook for live concerts after the industry was hit so hard by the pandemic. this is bloomberg. ♪

caroline: we have been focusing on the u.s. jobs report. now we turn our attention to the holiday week and in the united states. joe, we have frequently talked about inflation. let's do a fun one, barbecue this weekend, food prices. unfortunately, a bit higher. a good thing wage inflation popped up in the labor data. joe: are you going to smoke anything this weekend, a brisket? caroline: we might be seeking to

sausages and burgers. joe: you are right, you can talk about inflation in the absence of wage gains. caroline: what are you smoking? joe: maybe i will do ribs this weekend. the other big event, the big event this weekend, the boston pops july 4 spectacular. bloomberg has live coverage beginning 8:00 p.m. eastern on sunday. joining us now the boston pops conductor, keith lockhart. for us new yorkers or londoners, explain the significance of the boston pops to the city of boston? >> thank you for introducing us as the event of the weekend. we like to think of it that way. the boston pops fireworks spectacular is one of this nation's most beloved holiday

traditions. when i say we have a nationwide and worldwide audience, i'm not exaggerating. there are some of the people around this country who think of this concert as being where america spends its birthday. as you know, last year we were not able to do this. so, this year, as things begin to open up, our return to a live fourth of july, with a live audience -- something our orchestra has not performed in front of in a year and half -- is really, the feeling is indescribable. it is so great to be back on that podium. caroline: back on the podium you have been leading since the young age of 35. keep coming our history is amazing. who are you most -- keith, your history is amazing. you have a lineup of incredible talent joining you on stage. >> the orchestra, 75 incredible musicians, many of whom have

suffered horribly in the last year and a half, in the gig economy many musicians find themselves in. i am thrilled with our lineup. john batiste of the colbert show and the movie soul, will be performing. i did not think there was a chance we would get him and he said yes right away. and we are joined also by staples, an icon of rhythm and blues. you can get your barbecues together and put your giant screen on your patio and watch as. joe: i love the plan. -- and watch us. joe: you mentioned the hardship so many people who work in performance have suffered with a year of no live events. how confident are you that as we normalize things will -- people will be racing back to public concerts and productions?

so that people have stable work or can compensate for a difficult last year? >> it is hard. i do not have a crystal ball. i will say, we are a congregational economy. the main part of the income for a lot of cultural institutions, like broadway theaters and big operas and opera, is live people in the seats, paying to come together in congregation to see another congregation up on that stage. ♪ from what i am hearing from people, there is a hunger to go back to life, to experience community in congregation like that. i do not think it will be instant. and even for the summer we are starting and half measures. date 9000 people that we will see in tanglewood, -- the 900 -- the 9000 people we will see in tanglewood, normally we see

500,000 people live. we found an opportunity to do something smaller, ok. caroline: we wish you well, keith lockhart. we will be tuning in, conductor of the boston pops. do not miss it july 4 8:00 p.m. eastern. this is bloomberg. ♪

>> from the heart of where innovation, money,, and power collide in the heart of silicon valley and beyond, this is "bloomberg technology" with emily chang. emily: i'm emily chang in san francisco, and this is "bloomberg technology." coming up in the next hour, end of an era. as jeff bezos gets ready to step down from amazon next week, we will talk about his lega