Temporary help jobs rose by 3,100 in February from January, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The year-over-year growth rate rose to 3.16% in February from 2.18% in January, marking the largest year-over-year growth rate since December 2015.

Today’s revised data also decreased January’s previously reported gain of 14,800 US temp jobs to a gain of 6,500.

The temp penetration rate — temp jobs as a percent of total employment — edged down to 2.038% in February from 2.039% in January.

“Though temporary help job additions were a bit soft in February and accompanied by a downward revision to the prior month, the year-over-year trend is much improved, rising at the fastest pace since late-2015,” said Andrew Braswell, senior research analyst at Staffing Industry Analysts.

Total nonfarm jobs rose by 235,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down slightly from the gain of 238,000 in January.

Bloomberg reports the total nonfarm jobs increase exceeded the median forecast in its survey of economists, which called for an increase of 200,000. While unseasonably warm weather may have boosted the payrolls count, the data represent President Donald Trump’s first full month in office and coincide with a surge in economic optimism following his election victory.

The unemployment rate edged down to 4.7% in February from 4.8% in January. The college-level unemployment rate — which can serve as a proxy for professional employment — also edged down to 2.4% in February from 2.5% in January.

“Today’s report of 235,000 jobs created in February removes the final barrier to a March rate increase by the Federal Reserve and could pave the way for two additional hikes later in the year,” The Conference Board stated. “After an unexpected slowdown in January, wage growth picked up in February to 2.8%, driven by still tight labor markets and minimum wage increases that went into effect in 19 states at the beginning of the year.”

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