Job growth accelerated in September at a faster rate than economists expected, buoyed by particularly strong growth in the food and beverage industry as well as health care and government.

Employers added 254,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday. That was well above the 140,000 gain forecast by LSEG economists, while the unemployment rate ticked lower to 4.1%.

Hiring ramped up at food and drinking establishments to 69,000 in September — well above the average monthly gain of 14,000 over the past 12 months. The food and beverage industry was the primary source of the leisure and hospitality industry’s gain of 78,000 jobs.

The health care industry added about 45,000 jobs in September, though that represented a slow-down compared to the average monthly gain of 57,000 in the last year. Those gains were concentrated in home health care services (+12,700), hospitals (+11,500) and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,400).

US ECONOMY ADDED 254K JOBS IN SEPTEMBER, WELL ABOVE EXPECTATIONS

Hiring in the government sector rose again in September with a gain of 31,000 — though it was at a slower pace than the average of 45,000 a month in the past year. The sector’s gains last month were primarily among local government (+16,000) and state government (+13,000).

The social assistance industry added 26,500 jobs last month, most of which were in individual and family services (+21,200). Overall, the sector’s hiring was above the 21,000 a month average in the last year.

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Construction firms hired 25,000 more workers in September — above the 12-month average gain of 19,000 — with most of the growth in nonresidential specialty trade contractors (+17,000).

Manufacturing shed 7,000 jobs in September in what was a steeper decline than the loss of 5,000 jobs LSEG economists had predicted. 

The largest declines were at firms involved in manufacturing cars and auto parts (-6,500) and electrical equipment, appliance and component manufacturing (-2,000), while gains in fabricated metal products (+3,700) partially offset those losses. The sector’s employment decline occurred after it lost 27,000 jobs in August.

Construction hiring continued to show signs of strength. (Allison Joyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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The transportation and warehousing sector lost 8,600 jobs in September. The largest losses were in warehousing and storage (-11,000), air transportation (-1,500) and scenic and sightseeing transportation (-1,000). Those were partially offset by gains in transit and ground passenger transportation (+3,400) and couriers and messengers (+1,300).

Other sectors saw modest job growth including professional and business services (+17,000), retail trade (+15,600), financial activities (+5,000), information services (+4,000) and utilities (+3,400).