The U.S. job market delivered another upside surprise last month, churning out a better-than-expected 147,000 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked down unexpectedly, too.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent, according to a jobs report released Thursday by the Labor Department, reflecting the exit of workers from the labor market. The June unemployment rate hovers near a historically low level.

U.S. job growth was unexpectedly solid in June, but nearly half of the increase in nonfarm payrolls came from the government sector, with private industry gains the smallest in eight months as businesses battled rising economic headwinds.