Nonfarm payroll up 103,000 in Sept. rate at 9.1% (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. added 103,000 nonfarm jobs in September, the Labor Department said Friday. The increase was larger than the 59,000 gain expected by Wall Street economists polled by MarketWatch. Returning workers after the end of a strike at Verizon Communications Inc. added about 45,000 workers to payrolls in September. Revisions to the past two months added 99,000 workers to payrolls. The government sector continued to shed jobs in the month. Private payrolls expanded by 137,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.1% as expected. Average hourly earnings increased 0.2% to $23.12 in September, reversing a drop in August. Economists had been expecting a 0.2% gain. Earnings are up 1.9% in the past year. The average workweek rose six minutes to 34.3 hours. The manufacturing workweek edged down.