Payroll growth has rebounded in the United States with the largest monthly gain in six months.

According to the latest Labor Department estimates, nonfarm payrolls swelled 224,000 in June. The unemployment rate edged up a tenth of a point, but at 3.7 percent remains new a 50-year low.

The June gain in payrolls was the largest since January and more than triple the 72,000 jobs added in May. The payroll gain for April was revised downward 8,000 to 216,000.

Given the latest numbers, payrolls increased an average of 172,000 a month through the first half of 2019. Payroll gains averaged 223,000 a month in 2018.

For June, 6 million people were counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work. Of those, 1.4 million have been out of work 27 weeks or longer.

Another 4.3 million people were counted among those working part time because their hours were cut or they were unable to find full-time positions.

The labor participation rate edged up a tenth of a point to 62.9 percent.

Payroll gains for June were spread out among a number of industry sectors. Professional and business services added 51,000 jobs, while health care payrolls increased 35,000 and employment in transportation and warehousing rose 24,000.  Construction added 21,000 positions, while manufacturing payrolls grew 17,000.

The average workweek for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls held steady at 34.4 hours. The manufacturing workweek edged up a tenth of an hour to 40.7 hours.

Average hourly earnings for employees on private, nonfarm payrolls rose 6 cents to $27.90. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have increased 3.1 percent.