The rate of unemployment in the US has dropped to 6.1 per cent as it fell by 0.2 percentage points to 9.5m people unemployed, according to the latest figures.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy had added 288,000 jobs in June, with the number of unemployed down by 325,000.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is reported to have soared to above 17,000 for the first time on the back of the news.
In a statement, it said that “widespread” job gains had been led by employment growth in professional and business services, retail trade, food services and healthcare.
Employment in professional and business services rose by 67,000 last month and retail trade employment was up by 40,000 in June.
The figures showed that the number of long-term unemployed decreased by 293,000 in June to 3.1m, while over the past 12 months the number of long-term unemployed had fallen by 1.2m.
It comes after the US economy contracted by a worse than expected 2.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
