WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a healthy 255,000 jobs in July, a sign of confidence amid sluggish economic growth that points to a resilient economy.

At the same time, the unemployment rate remained a low 4.9 percent, the Labor Department said Friday in its monthly jobs report. More Americans launched job searches, and nearly all were hired. But the influx of job seekers meant that the number of unemployed fell only slightly.

The figures suggest that U.S. employers shook off concerns about Britain’s late-June vote to quit the European Union. Nor were they apparently discouraged by the economy’s tepid growth in the first half of the year: Just 1 percent at an annual rate. The solid hiring could fuel an economic rebound in the second half of this year, with more paychecks and higher pay fueling spending and growth.

Stock index futures rose after the jobs report was released, a signal that investors may feel more encouraged by prospects for corporate earnings.

“Even as economic growth has been lackluster, the job market has remained sparkling bright,” said James Marple, a senior economist at TD Bank.

Some economists raised the possibility that the job gains will embolden the Federal Reserve to resume raising rates later this year, though perhaps not before December. The Fed raised its benchmark rate from a record low in December last year but has since held that rate steady in the face of economic uncertainty.

“These job numbers are good enough to keep the Fed on track for a December rate increase despite sluggish GDP growth in the first half of this year,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist at the Bank of the West.

Average hourly pay picked up in July and is 2.6 percent higher than it was a year ago, matching the fastest pace since the recession. With the unemployment rate low, that suggests that employers are being forced to compete with one another for new hires by offering higher pay.