A closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of June.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 147,000 jobs in June after jumping by an upwardly revised 144,000 jobs in May.
The stronger than expected job growth partly reflected increases in state government and healthcare employment, which helped to offset the continued loss of government jobs.
The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in June from 4.2 percent in May. The unemployment rate was expected to inch up to 4.3 percent.
The decrease in the unemployment rate came as the by the household survey measure of employment fell by 222,000 persons, while the labor force shrank by 130,000 persons.