The US unemployment rate dipped to 5.9% in September, a six-year low, official figures have shown.

The rate fell from 6.1% in August and is the lowest recorded since July 2008.

US Labor Department also said that employers added 248,000 jobs last month, and the job growth figures for August and July were revised upwards.

The jobs figures are seen as a significant gauge of the health of the economy and there has been much debate over when US interest rates will rise.

The US Federal Reserve has kept interest rates close to zero since the financial crisis in 2008.