LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The job growth, however wasn't enough to lower the unemployment rate, which remains at 9.1 percent for the third straight month. Manufacturing payrolls have also shrunk and the government has continued its sharp cutbacks.

On the brighter side, the Labor Department said the average workweek for all private-sector workers edged up in September.

These figures put the third quarter's average monthly job growth at 96,000 jobs, which is still not enough to keep up with the population growth and bring down the unemployment rate. Job growth had averaged 166,000 a month in the first quarter of this year.

Job figures were partially inflated by the return to work of striking Verizon workers, just as their temporary absence from their jobs lowered the August job numbers. Professional and business services led the industries in job growth by adding 48,000 to their payrolls last month. Healthcare employment rose by 44,000, and the long-declining construction sector added an unexpectedly large 26,000 jobs over the month.

Economists were cautiously optimistic. "This is good news and we'll take it, but it's not enough to erase the risk of recession, particularly if Europe goes down," Diane Swonk, chief economist and senior managing director at Mesirow Financial told CNBC.

"Hopefully it is sustainable and continues so that we can avoid recession," Kurt Karl, chief U.S. economist at Swiss Re, told Reuters. "If we keep up like this we will certainly avoid that."

While calling the latest growth statistics good, White House economic adviser Gene Sperling says it is not good enough. Stronger job growth is needed to get unemployed Americans back to work, he said.

"It's not nearly good enough for our economy and it's not nearly good enough for this president," Sperling told CNBC.

The weak U.S. economy has been a major challenge for President Barack Obama, who is gearing up for a re-election battle in November 2012.

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