The economy took another blow in September with the loss of 95,000 jobs, CNNMoney.com reported.

It was a bigger-then-expected hit for an already struggling job market, as cash-strapped governments continued to shed positions and business hiring dwindled.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a total of 159,000 government employees were let go last month, including 77,000 census workers. A total of 83,000 jobs were cut at the state and local level, the worse decline since 1982.

Teachers and other education workers accounted for 58,000 of those cuts, a result of budget crises in several states.

Excluding from the numbers 564,000 temporary census workers who were hired in the spring – those jobs have since ended – September was the first month in 2010 that experienced a decline in jobs.

September marked the ninth consecutive month that private businesses added workers, but the 64,000 employees added in that sector marked a slowdown from the previous two months.

A Briefing.com report showed that economists had expected a flat month.

Employers shed 57,000 jobs in August. The 9.6 percent unemployment rate was unchanged.