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WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. employment fell in Septemberfor the first time in seven years due to workplace disruptionscaused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the Labor Department said onFriday.

Non-farm payroll employment declined by 33,000 jobs last month,the first decline since 2010, the department said in its latestjobs report, noting "a steep employment decline" in food servicesand drinking places and below-trend growth in some other industries"likely reflected" the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.

However, other details of the jobs report showed that theunderlying momentum in the labor market remains unimpaired. Theunemployment rate, which was not affected by the storms, fell from4.4 percent to 4.2 percent, the lowest rate since 2000, thedepartment said.

Average hourly earnings for all employees rose by 12 cents to26.55 U.S. dollars in September. Over the past 12 months wagesincreased by 2.9 percent, up from 2.7 percent in the priormonth.

Analysts said the single-month drop in employment should betemporary and job growth will rebound markedly over the next fewmonths. Fed officials will wait for the jobs reports in October andNovember to confirm the labor market momentum before they consideranother rate hike in December.

The central bank said last month it expected labor marketconditions will strengthen somewhat further, while signaling therewould be one more rate hike by the end of the year. Enditem