By Jeffry Bartash WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. added 288,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate fell to a nearly six-year low of 6.1% as more people entered the labor force and found work, the government reported Thursday. The strong jobs report suggests the economy is gaining momentum and could force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than it had planned unless growth cools off. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected an increase of 215,000 nonfarm jobs. Employment gains for May and April were also revised up by a combined 29,000, the Labor Department said. In June, virtually every major industry added jobs, led by professional services, retail, restaurants, health care, finance and manufacturing. Average hourly wages, meanwhile, rose 6 cents, or 0.2% to $24.45. Wages are up 2% over the past 12 months. The average workweek was unchanged at 34.5 hours. The labor-force participation rate was also flat at 62.8%. The government said 224,000 new jobs were created in May, up from a preliminary 217,000, based on newly available data. April's gain was revised up to 304,000 from 282,000, marking the biggest increase in jobs in two and a half years. So far in 2014 the economy has gained an average of 231,000 jobs a month, 19% faster than the 2013 pace of 194,000.

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