U.S. job growth and wages rose in May, signs of an economic boost that could mean an interest rate hike in September, Reuters reported.

Even the bad news came with a silver lining. Employment rose to 5.5 percent nationally, but that’s because many people have decided to re-enter the labor force because prospects are better.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 280,000 last month, the largest gain since December, the Labor Department said Friday. Payrolls for March and April were revised to show 32,000 more jobs created than previously reported. That, together with an 8-cent gain in average hourly earnings, raises the chances of the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy this year.

Workers were making more money, too. The increase in average hourly earnings took the year-on-year gain to 2.3 percent, the largest rise since August 2013.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 225,000 last month and the unemployment rate steady at 5.4 percent. May payroll gains lifted job growth above last year’s average of 260,000 jobs per month.

“This certainly puts more ammunition in the Fed’s plan to start liftoff in September,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

The dollar rallied against other currencies, while prices for U.S. government debt dropped sharply. U.S. stock index futures fell.