The economy added 288,000 jobs in June while the unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts had expected 212,000 jobs to be added. It marks five straight months of job growth over 200,000 and is the lowest unemployment rate since September 2008. 1.38 million jobs have been added to the economy since the start of the year, 1.16 million of them in the private sector.
The retail sector added 40,000 jobs in June while leisure and hospitality added 39,000 and manufacturing added 16,000. Job growth was also strong in professional and business services, which added 67,000 jobs, and food service and drinking places, which rose by 33,000.
Job gains in April and May were revised upward by 29,000 jobs over what was previously reported, with April going from 282,000 to 304,000 and May going from 217,000 to 224,000.