Washington, July 3 (IANS): The US economy added 288,000 jobs in June, much higher than the market expectation of 215,000, the Labour Department said Thursday.
Non-farm payroll employment increased by 288,000 in June, posting the fifth consecutive month with job gains above 200,000, much higher than a revised figure of 224,000 in May, the department said.
The unemployment rate unexpectedly declined from 6.3 percent to 6.1 percent, Xinhua reported citing the department.
The labour force participation rate was at 62.8 percent for the third consecutive month. The number of long-term unemployed, or those jobless for 27 weeks or more, declined by 293,000 in June to 3.1 million, accounting for 32.8 percent of the unemployed.
The US job market's significant improvement in June showed the world's largest economy is on track to recover from the weather-related contraction in the first quarter.