The US economy added a disappointing 142,000 jobs in September, pointing to slower economic growth, while the unemployment rate held steady as expected at 5.1 percent, Labor Department data showed Friday.

Job growth came in well below analyst estimates of 205,000, and the department revised the August level down sharply to 136,000 jobs, providing a more downbeat picture of the labor market as the Federal Reserve considers its first interest rate hike in more than nine years.