WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. economy churned out 235,000 new jobs in February in the first full month of the Trump White House, signaling steady growth ahead and all but assuring the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates soon.

The economy has added almost half a million jobs in the first two months of 2017, the best back-to-back performance since last summer. Employment in weather-sensitive industries got a big boost from the second warmest February on record, including the biggest gain in construction jobs in 10 years.

Wages are also rising at the fastest pace of a recovery that’s nearing its eighth year of age, reflecting a tight labor market in which companies have to compete more aggressively for workers amid a record number of job openings.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, dipped to 4.7% from 4.8%, the government said Friday. More people entered the labor force in search of work and fewer gave up looking for jobs.

“The unemployment continues to come down and layoffs are exceedingly low,” noted Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. “The labor market is tight and getting tighter.”

Read: How low are layoffs? Lowest since Vietnam war

In recent trades, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.46% rose more than 70 points. The Dow has gained about 23% over the last 52 weeks.

The rock-solid employment report appears to seal the deal for an increase in a key U.S. interest rate that helps determine borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. The Federal Reserve has already given strong indication it plans to move next week.

Read: Jobs report takes away last hurdle to Fed interest-rate hike

The U.S. has expanded steadily for years, putting millions of people back to work and driving unemployment rate to an nine-year low. Americans have more money to spend and greater job security is likely to enable them to do so.

President Donald Trump has also moved aggressive to boost the economy with a host of measures to reduce regulations and cut taxes, among other things. Consumer optimism is running at the highest level in 15 years and small businesses are also gung-ho after years of pessimism.

See: Trump economic scorecard

What’s less clear is whether the economy can continue to add 200,000 jobs a month with the unemployment rate already so low and firms increasingly complaining about a shortage of skilled job candidates.

Read: J.P. Morgan’s Jamie Dimon says Trump has awakened ‘animal spirits’

The big employment gains last month, for example, were inflated by warm weather and that effect should soon fade. Construction companies added 58,000 jobs to mark the biggest increase since the recovery that begin in mid-2009.

Still, hiring remains widespread. Manufacturers and health-care providers boosted employment sharply last month, as did white-collar firms and educational establishments. Almost every major sector increased hiring with the lone exception of retailers. They shed 26,000 jobs.

As the pool of available workers shrinks, companies have to pay more to attract or maintain talent.

Wages for the average American worker rose 0.2% last month to $26.09 an hour. Hourly pay increased 2.8% over the past 12 months, up from 2.6% in January. That’s just a tick below the post-recession high.

Meanwhile, the government said 238,000 new jobs were created in January instead of 227,000. December’s gain was trimmed to 155,000 from 157,000.