WASHINGTON — Employers shook off two months of weak hiring by adding 287,000 jobs in June, a robust pace that suggests a resilient U.S. economy recovering from a slump early in the year.

The hiring spurt marked a sharp improvement from May’s dismal showing, when only 11,000 jobs were added, and April’s modest gain of 144,000.

The unemployment rate rose in June from 4.7 percent to a still-low 4.9 percent.

But the uptick occurred mainly for an encouraging reason: More Americans began seeking jobs — a sign of growing confidence in their prospects — though many didn’t immediately find work.

The broadly positive jobs report suggests that the U.S. economy was improving before the United Kingdom startled the world late last month by voting to leave the European Union. The “Brexit” vote roiled financial markets and raised fears that the global economy would slump and possibly even succumb to a recession.

The job growth will also raise hopes that the U.S. economy, which has repeatedly defied overseas weakness before, may be able to further strengthen even as the rest of the world slows.

Average hourly pay, a chronic weak spot in the seven-year U.S. recovery from the Great Recession, rose in June.

Over the past 12 months, average wages are up 2.6 percent — the best year-over-year gain since December, though still below the long-standing pace of about 3.5 percent.

Hiring was widespread across both higher and lower-paying sectors.