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WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a surprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, the government said, issuing a key economic report that had been delayed for seven weeksÌýby the federal government shutdown.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September, highest since October 2021 and up from 4.3% in August, the Labor Department said Nov. 20. The unemployment rate rose partly because 470,000 people entered the labor market — either working or looking for work — in September and not all of them found jobs right away.

The increase in payrolls was more than double the 50,000 economists had forecast. But Labor Department revisions showed that the economy lost 4,000 jobs in August instead of gaining 22,000 as originally reported. Altogether, revisions shaved 33,000 jobs off July and August payrolls.

Health care and social assistance firms added more than 57,000 jobs in September, construction companies 19,000 and retailers almost 14,000. But factories shed 6,000 jobs and the federal government lost 3,000.

The jobs report more than DOUBLED expectations, with 119,000 new jobs added in September!

Under ’ leadership, we’re making progress to restore the American Dream and unleash historic prosperity for our workers 🇺🇸 — U.S. Department of Labor (@USDOL)

Average hourly wages rose just 0.2% from August and 3.8% from a year earlier, edging closer to the 3.5% year-over-year increase that the Federal Reserve's inflation fighters like to see.

During the 43-day U.S. government shutdown, investors, businesses, policymakers and the Federal Reserve were groping in the dark for clues about the health of the American job market because federal workers had been furloughed and couldn't collect the data.

Fed policymakers are divided over whether to cut interest rates for the third time this year when they meet next month.

Economists expected to see a continuation of what was happening in the spring and summer:Ìýweak hiring but few layoffs,Ìýan awkward pairing that means Americans who have work mostly enjoy job security — but those who don’t often struggle to find employment.

The job market has been strained this year by the lingering effects of high interest rates engineered to fight a 2021-2022 spike in inflation and uncertainty around Trump’s campaign to slap taxes on imports from almost every country on earth and on specific products — from copper toÌýforeign films.

119,000 jobs added in September.
But look at the breakdown. About 70% of the job gains came from health care and restaurants.
**A lot of industries are still shedding jobs**

Hospitality: +47,000
Healthcare: +43,000 (37k was restaurants)
Construction: +19,000
State gov't:… — Heather Long (@byHeatherLong)

Labor Department revisions in September showed that theÌýeconomy created 911,000 fewer jobsÌýthan originally reported in the year that ended in March. That meant that employers added an average of just 71,000 new jobs a month over that period, not the 147,000 first reported.

Since March, job creation has slowed even more — to an average 53,000 a month. During the 2021-2023 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns, by contrast, the economy was creating 400,000 jobs a month.

President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration is expected to reduce the number of people looking for work, which means that the economy can create fewer jobs without sending the unemployment rate higher.

With September numbers out, businesses, investors, policymakers and the Fed will have to wait awhile to get another good look at the numbers behind the American labor market.

The Labor Department said Nov. 19 that it won’tÌýwon't release a full jobs report for OctoberÌýbecause it couldn't calculate the unemployment rate during the government shutdown.

Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data — including the number of jobs that employers created last month — along with the full November jobs report on Dec. 16, a couple of weeks late.

That puts an even more intense focus on September jobs numbers released Nov. 20. They are the last full measurement of hiring and unemployment that Fed policymakers will see before they meet Dec. 9-10 to decide whether to cut their benchmark interest rate for the third time this year.

AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.