U.S. employers added jobs at a steady pace last month, and the unemployment rate hit a 50-year low, signaling the labor market continues to provide opportunities for Americans in search of work despite a broader economic slowdown.

The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department reported Friday. The jobless rate dropped to 3.5% in September from 3.7% in August, marking the lowest jobless rate since December 1969, when it also logged in at 3.5%.

Meanwhile, average hourly earnings climbed 2.9% from September 2018, a slowdown from previous months but still higher than inflation.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast an unemployment rate of 3.7% in September and job growth of 145,000. Payrolls for August and July were revised up by a combined 45,000.

Weakening global growth has prompted policy makers around the world to cut their key interest rates this year, with both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank easing policy in September.