Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.9% on Strong Job Growth

The economy added 248,000 jobs in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, beating analyst expectations and improving significantly over August's disappointing numbers. The bureau's last monthly release showed the U.S. only adding 142,000 jobs, the fewest in eight months. Friday's data could help quell any fears of a worsening employment climate.

Today's nonfarm payroll report also showed the unemployment rate falling to 5.9%, down from 6.1% in August and the lowest since July of 2008. The labor force participation rate -- the percentage of the workforce that is either employed or actively looking for work -- remained mostly static at 62.7% as older Americans continue to drop out of the work force. The unemployment rate has dropped by 0.7% in 2014, but still remains about 1.5 percentage points higher than its pre-crisis lows.

Despite an increase in hiring, average hourly earnings did not budge. Wages growth was static in September, and hourly wages have increased just 2% over the year.

Economists and investors have been closely watching monthly jobs numbers, partly to glean insight into when the Federal Reserve will begin to raise interest rates. Fed chair Janet Yellen has made employment growth a key factor in determining monetary policy, and repeatedly cited labor market slack as a reason for keeping rates at historic lows. However, as Money's Taylor Tepper notes, Yellen is unlikely to raise interest rates in the near future due to inconsistent employment numbers and concerns over a shaky global economy, particularly in Europe.

Money's Pat Regnier points out that while consumer spending has largely recovered since the housing crash, construction and government spending has not. Until public spending begins to return to pre-recession levels, job growth may continue to be especially sluggish. September showed little increase in government spending.