WASHINGTON — America’s employers added an unexpectedly strong 254,000 jobs in September, the latest evidence that America’s labor market is solid enough to support steady hiring and a growing economy.

Last month’s hiring gain was up sharply from the 159,000 jobs that were added in August, and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.

The latest figures suggest that many companies are still confident enough to fill jobs despite the pressure of high interest rates. Few employers are laying off employees, though many have grown more cautious about hiring.

In its report Friday, the Labor Department also revised up its estimate of job growth in July and August by a combined 72,000.

The September job gains were fairly broad-based, a healthy sign. Restaurants and bars added 69,000 jobs. Healthcare companies gained 45,000, government agencies 31,000, social assistance employers 27,000, and construction companies 25,000. A category that includes professional and business services added 17,000 after having lost jobs for three straight months.

Average hourly raises were solid, too. They rose by a higher-than-expected 0.4 percent from August, slightly less than the 0.5 percent gain the month before. Measured from a year earlier, hourly wages climbed 4 percent, up a tick from a 3.9 percent year-over-year gain in August.

The economy’s progress in taming inflation led the Federal Reserve last month to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than four years. The Fed said it wanted to ease the cost of borrowing to help bolster the job market.

The economy’s resilience has come as a relief. Economists had expected that the Fed’s aggressive campaign to subdue inflation — the central bank raised interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023 — would cause a recession. It didn’t. The economy kept growing even in the face of ever-higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.

Most economists say the Fed appears to have achieved the once unlikely prospect of a “soft landing’’ — in which high interest rates help vanquish inflation without triggering a recession — “is already secure.’’

The economy is weighing heavily on voters as the presidential election nears. Many Americans are unimpressed by the job market’s durability and are still frustrated by high prices, which are running on average 19 percent higher than where they were in February 2021, when inflation began surging.

The public’s discontent with inflation and the economy under President Biden has been a political burden for Vice President Harris in her race for the White House against President Trump.

Associated Press