The U.S. economy created 217,000 nonfarm jobs in April, according to the latest report by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The robust increase in hiring in May follows a slightly revised 282,000 gain in new jobs in April and 203,000 in March.
The national unemployment rate held steady at 6.3 percent as more people entered the labor market in search of work.
The U.S. has now recovered all of the jobs lost after the 2007-2009 downturn.
In May, professional services, health care, bars and restaurants and transportation added the most new jobs. The professional ranks grew by 55,000, one-fourth of whom were temporary hires. Health care added 34,000 workers, bars and restaurants hired 32,000 people and the transportation sector increased payrolls by 16,000.
Wisconsin’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April was 5.8 percent, down from 5.9 percent in March and down from 6.8 percent in April 2013.
The U.S. stock market continued to rise to all-time highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 60 points today to 16,902.
