Five years into the flaccid recovery of the worst U.S. recession in decades, the country's jobs picture is starting to look up, although there is still a long way to go, economists said.

Thursday's U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which marked the five-year anniversary of the official end of the downturn and start of the so-called recovery, showed the U.S. added 288,000 jobs in June and that the jobless rate dropped to 6.1 percent.

"All-in-all, this is a strong report. But it's important to keep in mind that we still face a huge hole in the labor market, and even if we saw June's rate of job growth every month from here on out, we still wouldn't get back to health in the labor market for another two and a half years," Economic Policy Institute labor economist Heidi Shierholz said in an email sent out to reporters Thursday.

"Importantly, the unemployment rate dropped largely for good reasons, with the labor force participation rate holding steady and the share of the working age population with a job rising by one-tenth of a percent. Average hourly wages grew by 6 cents, bringing wage growth over the last year to 2.0 percent," she added.

The report is welcome news after years of a sluggish economy that continues to see millions without full-time work, lending to speculation that those graduating college and high school in recent years comprise an economically "lost generation" who cannot find meaningful employment.

Moreover, the nation's army of long-term unemployed - those without full time work for more than 27 weeks - continues to struggle, as employers tend not to hire those without recent full-time work experience, which has fed a vicious cycle.

Thursday's report came a month after the previous jobs report showed mixed signals. While the month of May saw the economy add 217,000 jobs, a seemingly healthy number, the working-age population has grown in recent years, which means more jobs are now needed to plug the gap than were needed at the recession's start more than six years ago, experts noted.

While jobs prospects remain grim in much of the country, there are exceptions, such as the Washington D.C. area, which has seen much economic growth in recent years and has largely been immune to the impact of the recession. Endi

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