Employers added 217,000 jobs in May as the labor market reached a milestone with the recovery of all 8.7 million jobs lost in the recession.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.3%, the Labor Department said Friday.
Economists surveyed by Action Economics estimated that 220,000 jobs were added last month.
Employment, at 138.5 million, exceeds its pre-recession level for the first time in the nearly five-year-old recovery. Payrolls fell by 8.7 million from January 2008 through February 2010, but since then non-farm jobs have risen by 8.8 million.
FIRST TAKE: More jobs but no cheer on wage gains
While the milestone is noteworthy, U.S. employment is still below where it should be after taking into account the growth in population and the labor force since the recession.
May's tally also mark the fourth straight month that job gains have topped 200,000 — the first such stretch since October 1999-January 2000.
