--- description: June job growth beats expectations title: Economy: Unemployment Rate to Lowest Level in Years, Jobs Grow image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c435f3518bf5e07/69869a6c3bc99906221a4646/jobs-employment-united-states.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Economy](/tag/economy/) ## Economy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Unemployment Rate Dips to Lowest Level Since 2008 by [Dan Hirschhorn](/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2014 12:39 PM CUT  Tamara Lane and Stedman Lewis fill out applications at a job fair on June 12, 2014 in Chicago, Ill. Tamara Lane and Stedman Lewis fill out applications at a job fair on June 12, 2014 in Chicago, Ill.Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Dan Hirschhorn](/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 3, 2014 12:39 PM CUT The U.S. economy added almost 288,000 new jobs in June, according to [new government data](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/empsit.pdf "undefined") Thursday, handily beating analysts’ expectations and sending the unemployment rate to its lowest level since September of 2008. The pace of job creation well outpaced projects that the economy would add 215,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dipped from 6.3% to 6.1%, its lowest level since the month Lehman Brothers collapsed and the U.S. economy went into a tailspin. Stock markets jumped on the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing 17,000 points for the first time ever. The data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics signaled that the economy was healthily bouncing back from a biting cold winter that hampered growth, and relieved economy watchers who had been alarmed by an economic contraction in the first quarter. The numbers will also sure come as a relief to Democrats who have been fearful that a still-sluggish economy will hurt them against Republicans in the midterm elections. [June marked the fifth consecutive month of job gains exceeding 200,000](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-employers-added-robust-288k-jobs-june "undefined"), the best clip since the tech boom of the late 1990s, the Associated Press reports. Job growth figures for May were also revised upward. BLS described the job gains as “widespread,” powered by growth in “business services, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and health care.” Signs that the economic recovery remains tepid still persist. While the longterm unemployed, defined as those jobless for 27 weeks or more, dropped by 293,000, 3.1 million Americans remains in that category. But with exports hitting a record high and imports falling, the trade deficit fell 5.6%, to $44.4 billion. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2953438/jobs-report-unemployment-rate-economy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2953438/jobs-report-unemployment-rate-economy/"},"headline":"Unemployment Rate Dips to Lowest Level Since 2008","datePublished":"2014-07-03T12:39:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:45:28.135Z","description":"June job growth beats expectations","url":"https://time.com/2953438/jobs-report-unemployment-rate-economy/","keywords":["Economy","Jobs report","Unemployment rate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c435f3518bf5e07/69869a6c3bc99906221a4646/jobs-employment-united-states.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Hirschhorn","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c435f3518bf5e07/69869a6c3bc99906221a4646/jobs-employment-united-states.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tamara Lane and Stedman Lewis fill out applications at a job fair on June 12, 2014 in Chicago, Ill.","caption":"Tamara Lane and Stedman Lewis fill out applications at a job fair on June 12, 2014 in Chicago, Ill.","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/economy/","name":"Economy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2953438/jobs-report-unemployment-rate-economy/","name":"Unemployment Rate Dips to Lowest Level Since 2008"}}]}] ```