The US jobless rate fell to 6.1 per cent in June as the economy pumped out a much better-than-expected 288,000 net new jobs, the Labor Department says.
Jobs gains were broad-based across industries, with a surge as well in government hiring, but the participation rate in the workforce remained at a low 62.8 per cent.
It was the fifth straight month of gains over 200,000, and with new jobs figures for the two prior months revised upward by a net 29,000 extra jobs, the data provided a picture of a solidly growing economy.
The unemployment rate was down from 6.3 per cent in May, and 7.5 per cent a year ago.
Workers' hours were unchanged but hourly wages increased, taking the year-on-year gain to 2.0 per cent.
The total number of officially unemployed fell by more than 300,000 to 9.4 million, with only a slight uptick in the number of those not in the labor force, another sign of strength in the economy.
There was a fall of nearly 300,000 in the number of long-term unemployed, to 3.1 million, a group that has particularly bothered policy makers concerned about people forced permanently out of the jobs market since the 2008-2009 recession.
But on the down side, the data also showed an increase in the number of those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs, by 275,000 to 7.5 million.
The Labor Department said the number of part-time workers is generally down for the past year, "but has shown no clear trend in recent months."
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