Hurricanescauserare monthlyU.S. job loss — butreboundlikely

A pullback in WASHINGTON —

U.S. hiring last month resulting fromHurricanesHarvey andIrma will likely prove short-lived, with a resilient job market pointing to gains in the coming months.

The unemployment rate fell to a fresh 16-year low of 4.2 percent, from4.4 percent, the Labor Department said Friday inits September jobs report. The proportion of Americans with jobs rose to a nearly nine-year high. And even long-dormantwage growth showed signs of picking up.

The economy lost 33,000 jobs last month — the first monthly loss in nearly seven years — as the hurricanes closed thousands of businesses in Texas, Florida and other parts of the Southeast. Yet hiring is widely expected to rebound in coming months as companies reopen and bring back workers and construction firms ramp up repair and renovation work.

Previous naturaldisasters, such asHurricane Katrina in 2005, also inflicted short-term job losses thatwere followed by intensified hiring. Outside of hurricane-hit areas, many Americans found work. The number of people describing themselves as unemployed fell to 6.8 million, the fewest sinceMarch 2007, before the Great Recession began.

That sign of health makes it appear all but certain that the Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark short-term interest rate in December. According to data fromthe CME Group, investors now foresee an 88 percent chance of a Fed rate hike then.