In addition, there was a surge in those counted as not in the labor force. The number rose by 692,000 to 96.3 million.
A broader measure of unemployment that takes into account discouraged workers and those at jobs part time for economic reasons edged lower, from 7.5 percent to 7.4 percent.
The report overall “serves as a capstone to one of the greatest labor market recovery periods of all time, with the economy creating new jobs in an impressive manner, and wage rates finally rising nicely,” Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income, said in a note.
The biggest contributor to job gains was professional and business services, which added 53,000. Heath care grew by 33,000, wholesale trade rose by 22,000, and transportation and warehousing contributed 20,000 to the total.
There also were 6,000 new mining jobs in a profession that has added 104,000 positions since October 2016, primarily in support activities.
Construction also grew by 23,000, though manufacturing lost 3,000 positions.
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