The U.S. employers hired many more people in June by opening 288,000 job positions, which dropped the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent, according to the Labor Department report released Thursday, July 3.
According to the Boston Globe, June’s unemployment rate decreased from 6.3 percent last month to 6.1 percent, which is the lowest number after the bankruptcy of the Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers in fall 2008.
It was the fifth-straight monthly employment growth above 200,000, which is the best record after the late 1990s tech boom. Nearly 2.5 million jobs were added to the market over the past 12 months, an average of 208,000 per month, which made it the fastest gain since May 2006. Employment gains numbered 217,000 jobs in May and 304,000 jobs in April.
The report said the U.S. economy is growing steadily toward the full health despite shrinking 2.9 percent at the beginning of the year.
‘‘Since February, this has now become a textbook jobs expansion,’’ Patrick O’Keefe, director of economic research at CohnReznick, said. ‘‘It is both broad and accelerating.’’
The Guardian reported that professional and business services had seen the most growth in June’s employment gains, with 67,000 jobs added to the sector. This figure is followed by retail employment with 40,000 jobs added, food service with 33,000 jobs added and healthcare with 21,000 jobs added.
Other unemployment numbers also were in decline with the job gains. Numbers for long-term unemployment, people who have not worked for 27 weeks or more, decreased by 293,000 in June. Discouraged workers—people who are able to work, but do not believe they can find a job—dropped by 351,000 compared to a year ago.
