US jobs increase, unemployment rate ticks up

Though U.S. employers added 156,000 jobs in September, the unemployment rate ticked up.

The jobless rate in the United States inched up to 5 percent from 4.9 percent in August. The latter month’s rate was flat from July, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release.

The latest unemployment report pointed to job gains in professional and business services, health care, food services and drinking places, and retail trade.

Employers in professional and business services added 67,000 jobs during September, led by 35,000 positions in administrative and support services. Over the last year, the industry has increased job ranks by 582,000, according to the release.

Health care establishments pushed payroll ranks up by 33,000 jobs last month. Ambulatory health care services were up 24,000, and hospitals increased by 7,000.

In food services and drinking places, jobs trended up by 30,000 positions. That brings increases in the industry up by 300,000 during the past year, according to the BLS.

Retail trade employment rose by 22,000 jobs last month, led by 14,000 positions in clothing and clothing accessories stores.

Mining, which has declined by 220,000 jobs from a payroll employment peak in September 2014, was unchanged in September. Other industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities and government, were largely unchanged, according to the release.

The number of people unemployed in the country was roughly flat at 7.9 million in September. The number of people marginally attached to the workforce - meaning they’re available for work and looked for a job in the past year - was 1.8 million in September, roughly unchanged from a year earlier.