The US economy unexpectedly shed 95,000 non-farm jobs in September and unemployment remained stuck at 9.6 percent, government data showed Friday, highlighting the sluggish recovery ahead of key mid-term elections.
The Labor Department report surprised most analysts who had predicted zero job losses and an uptick in the jobless rate to 9.7 percent.
The nonfarm payrolls reading marked a sharp decline from a revised 57,000 job losses in August, 3,000 more than initially reported.
Government payrolls fell by a larger than expected 159,000, reflecting both a drop in the number of temporary jobs for the 2010 census and job losses in local government, the department data showed.
About 6,000 temporary census workers remain on the government payroll after the departure of 77,000 in September. Local governments shed 76,000 jobs.
Private-sector payroll employment rose by 64,000, below expectations of a gain of 74,000 jobs. The department upwardly revised the August reading to 93,000 from an initially reported 67,000.