WASHINGTON -- U.S. employers shrugged off signs of weak growth and extended their long stretch of steady hiring in March, adding 215,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate ticked up -- to 5 percent from 4.9 percent in February -- but mostly for a good reason: More Americans came off the sidelines to look for work, though not all found jobs.
That is the fifth time in the past six months that the proportion of Americans working or looking for work has increased, an encouraging trend after that figure fell to four-decade lows last year. Many Americans, discouraged by a lack of available jobs, had given up on their job hunts since the recession, while others stayed home. Many baby boomers have also been retiring.
"This is a vote of confidence on the part of workers regarding the health of the U.S. economy," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS.
The data suggests that employers remain confident enough in their business prospects to add staff, even as overall growth has slowed since last winter. Many analysts estimate that the economy grew at a 1 percent annual rate or below in the first quarter. Continuing job gains indicate that employers may see the slowdown as temporary.
"We've been through some rough patches, but we continue to generate a lot of jobs," said Ward McCarthy, chief financial economist at Jefferies LLC in New York, who correctly forecast the gain in payrolls. "In a consumer-driven economy, that's going to keep us headed in the right direction."
The proportion of Americans with jobs rose to 59.9 percent, the fifth straight increase and highest level since March 2009, during the depths of the recession. Still, that figure remains far below its pre-recession level of 62.7 percent.
Kevin Wilson, chief executive officer of Buzz Franchise Brands, said the growing economy is helping him expand. He said he plans to add eight more employees to his headquarters staff of 22 by the end of the year.
The company operates Mosquito Joe, a pest-control provider, and Pool Scouts, which provides pool-cleaning services. Wilson expects to hire more workers at the existing 113 Mosquito Joe franchises and open 58 new ones. Those steps should create about 450 new jobs.
Investors were initially unimpressed by the jobs figures, but stocks picked up in midday trading. The Dow Jones industrial average increased 107.66 points to 17,793.66.
Steady hiring is also contributing to somewhat higher pay. Average hourly wages rose 2.3 percent from a year earlier to $25.43. Annual wage gains have improved since the early years of the recovery, but they are below a peak of 2.6 percent reached in December.
Sluggish wage growth has been a weak spot in the economy and a source of frustration for many workers since the recession ended in 2009. Paychecks typically grow at a 3.5 percent pace in a strong economy.
That frustration has spilled over into widespread demands for a higher minimum wage. California approved a measure this week to lift its minimum to $15 an hour by 2020, more than double the current federal minimum of $7.25. New York lawmakers have also approved a $15 minimum that will phase in over many years.
Heavy hiring by low-wage employers is likely one driver behind the demands for greater pay. Retailers added 47,700 jobs last month and have created 358,000 in the past year. Hotels and restaurants gained 26,000 jobs in March.
That hiring has been offset by some higher-paying positions, including in construction, financial services, and professional and business services, which include engineers, accountants and architects.
Manufacturing, hit by slower growth overseas, posted another month of job losses. Mining, which includes the oil and gas drilling sector, also cut jobs. Low oil prices have cost the industry 185,000 jobs since September 2014.
With more Americans flooding into the workforce, employers likely have more people to choose from when filling jobs. That takes the pressure off them to offer sharply higher wages.
Greater hiring can help fuel consumer spending, which is a critical source of growth this year. Other potential drivers of the economy, such as exports and business investment, have weakened.
Yet consumer spending has faltered since last winter after healthy gains in 2015. Spending ticked up just 0.1 percent in February for the third month in a row. That tepid trend caused many economists to slash their growth estimates for the first quarter.
Other economic data has been mixed.
U.S. manufacturers expanded in March, ending a five-month streak of declining factory activity.
The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its manufacturing index rose to 51.8 last month from 49.5 in February. Any reading above 50 signals growth.
The increase suggests that U.S. factories are adapting to the turmoil abroad, where a stronger dollar and weakening economies in China, Japan and elsewhere have hurt sales. But the details of the survey-based report were somewhat uneven. New orders and production improved, but the measure of employment at manufacturers contracted in a sign that factories are letting workers go.
"Manufacturing activity is stabilizing," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at the forecaster, MFR.
U.S. construction spending fell in February by the largest amount in three months. Weakness in nonresidential construction and government offset the strongest month for home construction in more than eight years.
Construction spending fell 0.5 percent in February following a 2.1 percent January gain, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Spending declines on construction of factories, communication facilities and other nonresidential activities fell by 1.3 percent in February. Sending on government projects was down 1.7 percent.
Those declines overshadowed a solid 0.9 percent rise in home construction, which pushed that sector to the highest point since October 2007.
Home construction has been a bright spot for the economy, growing at a sizzling 10.1 percent rate in the fourth quarter. Analysts are forecasting housing will remain strong this year.
Information for this article was contributed by Christopher S. Rugaber, Josh Boak and Martin Crutsinger of The Associated Press and by Victoria Stilwell of Bloomberg News.
Business on 04/02/2016