The United States added a stunning 288,000 jobs last month, sending the unemployment rate down to 6.1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shooting over 17,000 for the first time.

June’s job numbers marked the fifth straight month of job gains over 200,000, the best stretch since the 1990s tech boom.

A Bloomberg survey of economists expected an increase of 215,000 jobs in June.

The unemployment rate dropped .2 percent to 6.1, the lowest since September 2008.

May’s job report was also revised upward, showing 224,000 jobs added.

The numbers follow strong reports for the Bay State last month, with the Massachusetts unemployment rate hitting a near six-year low at 5.6 percent, down from 6 percent last month. Massachusetts alone added more than 9,000 jobs in May.