Employment continued to trend upward in the United States even as the unemployment rate inched up to its highest level in more than a year and a half.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 206,000 in June and the jobless rate edged up a tenth of a point to 4.1 percent, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Payroll estimates and the unemployment rate are based on separate surveys of businesses and households, respectively.

Initial estimates for payroll gains for the previous two months were revised downward a total of 111,000 to 218,000 for May and 108,000 for April.

Based on the latest numbers, payrolls have increased an average of 220,000 a month over the past year.

For June, 6.8 million people were counted among those unsuccessfully looking for work. Of those, 1.5 million have been out of work 27 weeks or longer.

Another 4.2 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 — the proportion of the population working or looking for work — edged up a tenth of a point to
62.6 percent. The rate has shown little change over the past year.

Payroll gains for June were spread out among industry sectors. Employment increased 49,000 in health care, 34,000 in social assistance and 27,000 in construction. Government payrolls increased 70,000.

The average workweek held steady for a third straight month at 34.3 hours. The average manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 40.2 hours.

Average hourly earnings increased 10 cents to $35. Over the past year, earnings increased 3.9 percent.