Dive Brief:

• Retailers added 35,000 jobs in September, part of U.S. labor growth last month of 248,000 new jobs, mostly in full-time positions, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Part-time jobs fell. 

• The Labor Department also revised its August number of new jobs from 142,000 up to 180,000 and its July report up from 212,000 to 243,000.

• Jobless claims also fell by 8,000 to 287,000 in the week ended Sept. 27, dropping the unemployment rate to 5.9%, according to another Labor Department report released Thursday. 

Dive Insight:

These labor market reports for September, with healthier revisions for earlier summer reports, signal strength in the U.S. economy, especially considering that September is often a month that shows weaker numbers. But wages are remaining stagnant. That’s a significant weakness that could keep consumers wary of spending.