Employers continued to add to payrolls in September as record openings drew more Americans into the workforce and most found jobs, indicating the U.S. labor market is settling into a pace that will support the economy. The 156,000 increase followed a 167,000 rise in August that was more than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed Friday in Washington. While the September figure was weaker than the 172,000 median forecast of economists, payrolls included the biggest drop in government employment in a year. The jobless rate rose to 5 percent as the labor participation rate ticked up to a six-month high.
While payroll additions have slowed from last year, they're still above what economists say is needed to accommodate labor-force growth, as employers face a limited pool of available and qualified workers. Steady progress will underpin further wage gains and consumer spending, the main driver of U.S. expansion this year, and encourage Federal Reserve policy makers to follow through on their forecast for an interest-rate increase by the end of 2016.
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