If the economic system is slowing down, no one advised the labor market.

Employers added 275,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported Friday, in one other month that exceeded expectations even because the unemployment fee rose.

It was the third straight month of seasonally adjusted positive aspects above 200,000, and the thirty eighth consecutive month of progress — contemporary proof that 4 years after going into pandemic shutdowns, America’s jobs engine nonetheless has loads of steam.

“We’ve been anticipating a slowdown within the labor market, a extra materials loosening in situations, however we’re simply not seeing that,” mentioned Rubeela Farooqi, chief economist at Excessive Frequency Economics.

Beforehand reported figures for December and January had been revised downward by a complete of 167,000, reflecting the upper diploma of statistical volatility within the winter months. That doesn’t disrupt an image of constant, strong will increase.

On the identical time, the unemployment fee, based mostly on a survey of households fairly than companies, elevated to a two-year excessive of three.9 %. The rise from 3.7 % in January was pushed by folks dropping or leaving jobs in addition to these getting into the labor power to search for work.

A extra expansive measure of slack labor market situations, which incorporates folks working half time who would fairly work full time, has been steadily rising and now stands at 7.3 percent.

In a optimistic signal, the labor power participation fee for folks of their prime working years — ages 25 to 54 — jumped to 83.5 %, matching a stage from final 12 months that was the best because the early 2000s. The participation fee for these over age 55 stays markedly beneath its prepandemic stage, doubtlessly partly as a result of the booming housing and inventory markets have allowed extra folks to retire.

Common hourly earnings rose by 4.3 % over the 12 months. Wages have outpaced costs since Could, although the tempo of will increase has been fading.

“We’ve lately seen positive aspects in actual wages, and that’s inspired folks to re-enter the labor market, and that’s a superb growth for employees,” mentioned Kory Kantenga, a senior economist on the job search web site LinkedIn. As wage progress slows, he mentioned, the chance that extra folks will begin on the lookout for work falls.

As late as final fall, economists had been predicting rather more modest employment will increase, with hiring concentrated in just a few industries. Some pandemic-inflated industries have shed jobs, however anticipated downturns in sectors like building haven’t materialized.

The previous few months have been studded with sturdy financial information, prompting analysts surveyed by the Nationwide Affiliation for Enterprise Economics to boost their forecasts for gross home product and decrease their expectations for the trajectory of unemployment. Inflation has eased, main the Federal Reserve to telegraph its plans for rate of interest cuts someday this 12 months, which many see as insurance coverage ought to the job market stumble.

Mervin Jebaraj, director of the Middle for Enterprise and Financial Analysis on the College of Arkansas, helped tabulate the survey responses. He mentioned the temper was buoyed partly by fading trepidation over federal authorities shutdowns and draconian funds cuts, after a number of shut calls because the fall. And there’s no hurt, he mentioned, in a tamer however extra sustainable tempo.

“If we acquire 150,000 jobs each month this 12 months, that will nonetheless be an unbelievable 12 months, however it might nonetheless be cooling in comparison with final 12 months,” Mr. Jebaraj mentioned. “And perhaps we wish each issues.”

Furthermore, among the cooling might have allowed for extra sturdy progress. As excessive labor shortages eased and the wave of job quitting subsided, employers unable to win bidding wars for employees have had a better time filling positions. And as folks stick round longer, productiveness has improved, which makes it simpler to pay extra with out growing costs.

Well being care and authorities once more led the payroll positive aspects in February, whereas building continued its regular improve. Retail, eating places, transportation and warehousing, which have been flat to unfavourable in latest months, picked up.

No main industries misplaced a considerable variety of jobs. Excessive rates of interest proceed to suppress manufacturing, nonetheless, whereas credit score intermediation continued its downward slide — that sector, which largely consists of industrial banking, has misplaced about 123,000 jobs since early 2021.

Few companies are extra emblematic of the ability behind latest employment positive aspects than residence well being companies for older folks, which depend 164,000 extra jobs than earlier than the pandemic — fully offsetting the decline of nursing and residential care amenities, which have been much less well-liked since Covid-19 ripped by way of them in 2020.

Elaine Flores is the chief working officer of Medical House Care Professionals, an company in Redding, Calif., that employs 102 scientific employees members and caregivers. That’s up about 20 % since early 2020, although the web acquire underestimates how many individuals she’s needed to rent as skilled suppliers have left the occupation.

“An increasing number of nurses are retiring out,” Ms. Flores mentioned. “That’s in all probability essentially the most troublesome self-discipline to recruit, and we compete towards hospitals, which have lovely advantages packages that, on residence well being margins, we will’t do.”

Elevated ranges of immigration might assist with that drawback within the coming years. In keeping with an analysis by the Brookings Institution, the inflow during the last two years has roughly doubled the variety of jobs that the economic system might add monthly in 2024 with out placing upward strain on inflation, to a variety of 160,000 to 200,000.

That doesn’t imply the employment panorama seems to be rosy to everybody. Worker confidence, as measured by the company rating website Glassdoor, has been falling steadily as layoffs by tech and media firms have grabbed headlines. That’s very true in white-collar professions like human assets and consulting, whereas these in occupations that require working in individual — similar to well being care, building and manufacturing — are extra upbeat.

“It’s a two-track labor market,” mentioned Aaron Terrazas, Glassdoor’s chief economist, noting that job searches are taking longer for folks with graduate levels. “For expert employees in risk-intensive industries, anybody who’s been laid off is having a tough time discovering new jobs, whereas in case you’re a blue-collar or frontline service employee, it’s nonetheless aggressive.”

These having a tough time discovering regular employment flip more and more to gig work, Mr. Terrazas famous, which isn’t picked up within the payrolls information. That has been true for Clifford Johnson, 70, who retired from his accounting job in Orlando, Fla., three years in the past and started drawing Social Safety.

The outlook modified when Mr. Johnson separated from his husband and needed to lease an condo, which within the sizzling Orlando housing market prices $2,350 a month. He has not landed one other accounting job, and a retail place didn’t work out. He has run by way of his restricted financial savings, and for now he drives for Uber Eats full time — even on the weekend — to remain afloat.

“I’m simply doing what I can do to earn cash every single day,” Mr. Johnson mentioned. He’s hoping a few contract accounting positions come by way of, since driving that a lot is bodily exhausting. “If you happen to’re 25 or simply graduating from faculty, it’s quite a bit completely different than in case you’re 70 and nonetheless attempting to make a dwelling.”

The trail ahead for the labor market, which few have managed to precisely predict, stays hazy. Each seeming risk to this point — together with wars, substantial rate of interest will increase and financial institution collapses — has been met with unflappability.

Thomas Simons, senior economist on the funding banking agency Jefferies, thinks the economic system will look weaker on the finish of the 12 months than it does now, regardless of the dearth of any apparent potholes.

“It’s been 30-plus years since we’ve had an financial cycle like this, the place we’re ready for sufficient drag to coalesce between completely different sectors to take the entire quantity down,” Mr. Simons mentioned. “I nonetheless consider it’s unlikely that it’s going to proceed indefinitely, even with out a discrete catalyst.”