Investors have been jittery in recent weeks after dismal reports on a contraction in the first quarter, but a new jobs report indicates that 280,000 were added to payrolls in the month of May, a huge increase that is heartening economists and suggesting that the contraction was a temporary one.

The official unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent, but economists think this may actually be a good sign: people who were previously considered out of the job market because they’d given up are back in it looking for a job, heartened by news of rising payrolls and more job openings, according to an Economic Times report.

In addition to the increase in jobs, there was also a 0.3 percent bump in the hourly wage rate in May. All in all, the encouraging numbers suggests that economists can stop worrying about the contraction from the first quarter and see it as an aberration rather than a sign of things to come, and the economy may in reality be set to blast off to new heights after a strong 2014.

The new numbers are likely to encourage the Federal Reserve to stay on track with their likely move of increasing interest rates later this year. Interest rates have sat at near zero since the recession began as the Fed has tried to encourage spending in the economy, and they will likely raise those rates to keep inflation in check once spending continues to pick up.

Still, there are some less-than-encouraging signs that linger, including the broader-defined unemployment rate — the one that includes part-time workers who want full-time work, and those that have abandoned hopes of getting a job even though they would like one — has remained at 10.8 percent. Economists had hoped that number would fall.