Encouraged by help-wanted signs, more people sought jobs, nudging the unemployment rate to 4.8 percent from 4.7 percent in January.

The Labor Department report also showed that the annual gain in incomes was the most in more than four years. The increases in jobs and incomes were signs that the job market will bolster spending and economic growth.

Economic growth will depend more on rising employment this year as housing, a source of strength in the last four years, starts to fade, economists said.

"The first two payroll reports of the year paint a picture of strong economic growth, a tightening labor market, and rising wage pressures," said John Ryding, chief U.S. economist at Bear Stearns Cos. in New York. "The Fed will raise rates at each of the next three" meetings, he predicted.

The Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee is scheduled to meet next on March 27 and 28. It has raised interest rates 14 times since June 2004 to try to tame inflation as the economy grows.

The overall picture emerging from yesterday’s job report suggested that businesses are in the mood to hire and may be inclined to reward workers with fatter paychecks, economists said.

Last month’s increase of 243,000 jobs was an improvement over January’s gain of 170,000.

Employment grew last month in the construction, retail, financial services, health care and education industries. That eclipsed weakness in manufacturing, mostly reflecting job losses in the struggling automotive sector.

"Businesses are apparently seeing strong enough growth in demand for their goods and services to look for more workers - and businesses are being forced to pay up for them because wages are rising strongly, too," said economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pa. "The job market is becoming more and more friendly if you are a worker or looking to become one."

Workers’ average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, or 5 cents, in February to $16.47 after a 0.4 percent increase the previous month. Average wages were up 3.5 percent from February 2005 - the biggest 12-month increase since September 2001. Economists had expected a 0.3 percent increase in hourly wages.

Brighter job prospects sent people streaming into the labor market, however, bumping up the unemployment rate. While those people were not looking for work, they were not counted by the government as unemployed. Once they began looking, they were counted. While the 4.8 percent jobless rate was up slightly from a 41/2-year low in January, the new unemployment rate still indicated a healthy jobs climate.

"You are seeing a large number of people coming out of the woodwork because there are jobs to be found," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services. "People are now looking for jobs because it is now worth looking."

Wages and salaries are likely to rise by 4.2 percent, the biggest increase forecast by the company officials in at least three years, according to a survey of chief financial officers released this week by Duke University.

"With little excess capacity left in the labor market, we expect continued upward pressure on wages," said Joseph Abate, a senior economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York.

Rising salaries will help consumers keep spending even as home prices moderate, economists said.

The effect of smaller gains in home prices on consumer purchases "is not likely to be a significant concern," St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole said in a speech this week. "The reason is that other economy-wide developments, especially income and employment growth, typically exert a much greater influence on the consumer’s pocketbook and spending habits than does the state of the housing industry."