September jobs report blows past expectations, showing hiring surge [Video]

U.S. hiring surged in September, blowing past economist expectations and rebuking concern about weakness in the labor market. The fresh report marks one of the last major pieces of economic data before the presidential election.

Employers hired 254,000 workers last month, far exceeding economist expectations of 150,000 jobs added, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%.

Weaker-than-expected jobs data in both July and August has stoked worry among some economists about the nation’s economic outlook.

Despite an overall slowdown this year, the job market has proven resilient. Hiring has continued at a solid pace; meanwhile, the unemployment rate has climbed but remains near a 50-year low.

“The labor market is still healthy, but we have clearly seen a slowdown,” Roger Aliaga-Diaz, chief Americas economist at investment firm Vanguard, told ABC News in a statement before the new data was released. “Now we are …