WASHINGTON — Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, lifting hopes for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But the unemployment rate rose in August for the first time in four months as more people entered the market looking for work.

Companies added a net total of 67,000 new jobs last month and both July and June's private-sector job figures were upwardly revised, the Labor Department said today.

Stocks surged after the report's release. The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 120 points in the first hour of trading and broader indexes were all up.

While the report hardly suggests the economy is out of danger, it's a reassuring sign after weeks of troubling data and comes after some encouraging economic figures in the past week.

The jobless rate rose to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July. More than a half-million Americans resumed their job searches in August, which drove up the jobless rate. It's the first time the labor force has grown since April.