The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to 5.9 percent, the lowest level since 2008 as employers added 248,000 jobs in September, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Friday.
Jobs grew in professional and business services, particularly in employment services and consulting, the data showed. The retail and health-care sectors also gained, while the construction industry added 16,000 jobs.
The hiring increase followed a weak August, though the Labor Department revised the August figure upward to 180,000 jobs. Still, August was the first time figures came in below 200,000 since January.
On average, the U.S. economy has been adding well over 200,000 jobs a month this year.
"So far this year, private employment has risen by nearly 2 million, on pace for the strongest year of private-sector job growth since 1998," Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement released at the White House.