The strong report was likely to buoy the outlook of economists who had worried the post-recession recovery was being sidetracked. Those fears were prompted by the government‘s earlier report on Sept. 5 that fewer jobs were added in August than in any month so far this year.

The pace of job creation in September, which was above many economists’ expectations, signified a return to the 200,000 level, a mark that had been surpassed each month since midwinter until the August lull.

But even the August numbers weren’t as bad as originally thought. The government made revisions that showed 180,000 jobs were added in August. Originally it said just 142,000 workers were added to payrolls.