You could almost hear the sighs of relief.

Worries about the American economy’s momentum were blunted on Friday by the government’s announcement that e mployers added a hefty 280,000 jobs in May, well above the monthly average logged over the last year.

The official unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 5.5 percent as more Americans jumped back into the labor pool and began the job hunt. Hourly wages, which have grown fitfully, rose 0.3 percent last month, possibly helping to lure back some discouraged workers who had been staying on the sidelines.

The new data is likely to buttress the argument that the economy’s modest contraction in the first quarter and other pasty-faced reports were a blip, partly a casualty of the harsh winter, rather than evidence of a more fundamental slowdown.

The return of stronger job growth is also likely to bolster the resolve of Federal Reserve officials who hope to start raising interest rates from their near-zero level later this year.