WASHINGTON — A robust February jobs report showcased a resilient U.S. economy just as fears of a new recession had begun to surface.

Economic reports in recent weeks had fueled anxieties about a looming downturn: Manufacturers were slumping. Stocks had plummeted. China was slowing sharply along with other emerging markets. The rising dollar had crushed exports.

But last month, U.S. employers sent a clear message of confidence. They added a healthy 242,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate held at a low 4.9 percent, the government said Friday. The gains showed that the economy is surmounting its challenges without suffering much damage.

“Neither global headwinds, financial turbulence nor political uncertainty has dimmed American business’ enthusiasm for hiring,” said Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets. “The solid jobs report should allay recession fears.”

Retailers, restaurants, construction firms and health care providers — the core of consumer demand and vital fuel for economic growth — drove much of the hiring.

Worker pay did slip last month after having picked up in January. But more Americans began searching for jobs and found them. That lifted the job market’s participation rate — the proportion of adults either working or looking for work — to a 13-month high of 62.9 percent.

Friday’s jobs report will factor into an increasingly tense presidential race. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has cast herself as the logical successor to President Barack Obama and his stewardship of the economy. The Republican hopefuls have spotlighted what they call the economy’s failures, blaming tax rates and Obama’s signature health care program for stagnant incomes and the loss of blue-collar jobs.

February’s job growth could also give the Federal Reserve a path to raise interest rates again as early as June, according to many economists. Prior solid job growth had led the Fed to raise rates from record lows in December before it paused at its January meeting in the face of global pressures, falling oil prices and subpar inflation.

“It’s probably a better than a 50 percent proposition that they will raise the rates in June,” said Kevin Logan, chief U.S. economist at the bank HSBC.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 1 percent in late afternoon trading.

Retailers added 54,900 jobs last month. Restaurants and bars added 40,200, the health care sector 38,100 and construction companies 19,000.

Hiring by employers that are directly linked to consumers has more than offset layoffs at manufacturers and fossil fuel companies — two sectors squeezed by the pressures of uncertainty in China, sluggishness in Europe, declining oil prices and a stronger dollar.