US unemployment rate falls for older workers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Workers older than 55 benefited from the September surge in hiring.

The unemployment rate for this group of baby boomers fell to 3.9 percent from 4.6 percent as 230,000 people of them landed new jobs.

The steady gains for these older workers drove much of the job growth in the September jobs report released Friday.

The overall jobless rate fell 0.2 percentage point to 5.9 percent, its lowest level since July 2008. And employers surveyed by the government reported that they added 248,000 jobs in September. The gains for workers older than 55 came from a separate survey of households that is part of the Labor Department's monthly jobs data.

Unemployment rates also fell for other groups, including recent war veterans and college graduates.