More workers were hired in September and job gains from previous months were revised higher, but the Labor Department’s latest jobs report says it did not make a dent in the nation’s unemployment rate.
Unemployment remains at 9.1 percent, the same rate as July and August according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate in September 2010 was 9.6 percent.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 103,000 in September, partly because nearly 45,000 Verizon workers returned to work after a strike. Not including the Verizon workers, payrolls increased by 58,000.
The report had one piece of good news, as revisions showed 99,000 more jobs were added in July and August than initially reported.
Average hourly earnings increased four cents in September, rebounding from a four-cent loss in August. Earnings have increased 1.9 percent in the past year.
Some sectors showed promise, with healthcare and social services payrolls adding 40,800 jobs and construction adding 26,000 workers. Temporary help payrolls, seen as a predictor of future hiring, rose 19,400.
