WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The economy created 156,000 new jobs in September, another solid gain in employment that’s likely to prod the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the next few months.

The pace of job creation has slowed since last year — along with the U.S. economy — and some industries such and energy and manufacturing have dialed back on hiring. Yet most segments of the economy are adding workers. White-collar firms, high-tech outfits, health-care companies and restaurants led the way in September.

“The jobs market remains a relative bright spot in an environment that continues to be characterized by moderate growth overall,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer in Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

The unemployment rate rose a notch to 5% for the first time since April, the government said Friday, though that was largely because 444,000 people entered the labor force.

Some 3 million people have jointed the labor force in the past year, a clear sign that record job openings and steady hiring are enticing more Americans to seek work. An increasing number of companies even say they have trouble finding enough skilled workers.

In early afternoon trade, U.S. stocks SPX, +1.05% were slightly weaker, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell slightly.

Read: ‘Goldilocks is real’: September payrolls reactions

A tighter labor market has forced companies in some cases to pay higher wages to attract or retain employees. Hourly pay for the typical worker rose 0.2% in September to $25.79 an hour. The amount of time workers put in on the job, meanwhile, edged up in September after falling to a two and a half year low. That will ease worries about last month’s surprise decline.

Over the past year hourly wages have climbed 2.6%, almost matching the post-recession high.

“The improvement in average hourly earnings growth and hours worked is particularly encouraging, suggesting that the average worker is finally benefiting from the economic expansion and tightening labor market,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist of Bank of the West.

Some senior Fed officials worry that wages could start to rise sharply and feed into inflation unless they act to prevent the economy from overheating. All signs point to an increase in interest rates before year end.

Also read: Jobs report doesn’t shift timing for Fed rate-hike expectations

Overall inflation remains low, however, and the U.S. economy has also slowed over the past year. Annual growth is likely to fall short of 2% in 2016.

Total employment gains for August and July were 7,000 lower than previously reported. The government said 167,000 new jobs were created in August instead of 151,000. July’s gain was trimmed to 252,000 from 275,000.

The U.S. has added an average of 178,000 jobs a month this year, down from 228,000 in 2015 and 251,000 in 2014. Yet hiring was expected to taper off as it usually does when an economic expansion reaches maturity and the pool of jobless workers dries up.

Economists say the U.S. needs to add no more than 120,000 jobs a month, and perhaps less, to keep up with the natural increase in the size of the labor force.

The labor market, however, is still worse off by some measures compared to the period before the Great Recession. A broader measure of unemployment that includes people who gave up looking for work or can only find part-time jobs was unchanged at 9.7%. The so-called U6 rate was around 8% when the last downturn began

A puzzle to economists is why companies aren’t seeking to dip into that pool of workers to fill open positions. Some suggest a “skills gap” largely explains the dichotomy.