Powered by a burst of hiring in recent months and an uptick in wages, the huge army of workers that had been on the sidelines of the recovery is slowly returning to the job market.
The Labor Department said on Friday the proportion of Americans in the labor force crept up slightly to 63 percent the highest level in two years. Although still well below where it should be, that represents a move in the right direction and extends a trend that began last fall.
Over all, the economy added 215,000 jobs in March, as employers continued to hire at a robust pace, despite volatility on Wall Street and turmoil overseas.
The unemployment rate rose to 5 percent, compared with 4.9 percent in February. But that was a positive indication, analysts said, since the increase in participation accounted for the jump.
Although other economic data has been mixed recently, the Labor Department report paints a picture of a remarkably steady job market. Since the beginning of 2015, the economy has added well over 200,000 jobs a month on average.
Indeed, Fridays report suggests an economy gradually returning to a normal trajectory, like the one that prevailed before the Great Recession began in December 2007.
