For the nine million Americans who are unemployed, improving economic indicators do little to offset the feeling that the economy is still in a funk.

The headline numbers, indeed, look miserable. The unemployment rate stood at 6.2% in July, down only slightly from a nine-year high of 6.4% the month earlier. (See CareerJournal's Career Indicators page.) The U.S. Labor Department reports that nearly half a million people threw in the towel on their job searches in July, the latest month for which data are available. The economy lost an additional 44,000 jobs that month, even as economists were expecting an increase. The next reading on employment will come on Sept. 5, when the government releases data on nonagricultural business payrolls and the unemployment rate for August.

A recovery in the labor market would be a welcome sign not only for workers but also for investors who continue to seek motivation for putting money back into the market. The high jobless rate has fostered doubt that a broad economic upturn is sustainable, but an increase in hiring would indicate that businesses are more willing to spend over the long term.

In August, the Dow industrials rose 2%, the sixth straight monthly move higher. The Nasdaq composite was up by 4.3%, for a seventh straight monthly gain. The S&P 500-stock index rose 1.8%, also for its sixth month of gains. While the moves higher were slim, they were encouraging nonetheless given that August has been typically a difficult month for stocks.

And signs are emerging that the jobless recovery may not be jobless for much longer.

First, a growing economy demands output, and productivity gains and temporary workers can only carry the ball so far. On Aug. 28, the U.S. Commerce Department revised second-quarter gross domestic product growth to 3.1%, from an initial estimate of 2.4%, and some economists think the economy doesn't have much farther to go before it's able to support new jobs.

GDP growth "has to be 3.5% or better before you'll start to see those job numbers improve," says Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services Group. "I think we'll have that kind of growth this quarter. Given the lags in hiring, it may not be until fourth quarter or early next year that you see job creation."

Many economists are predicting quarterly GDP growth of 4% or greater. Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board, a New York-based business research firm, says if GDP growth can hold steady at about 4% throughout next year, between 75,000 and 100,000 jobs could open up each month. That's about a million new jobs next year.

A recent Wall Street Journal Online survey of economists found an average forecast of 3.6% annualized growth for the third quarter and 3.8% for the fourth quarter.

Already, businesses are showing signs that they are stretched, reducing the rate of layoffs.

A report from the Chicago branch of the National Association of Purchasing Management on Aug. 29 showed business continued to improve, and employment conditions in the region expanded for the first time in more than three years. Its business barometer climbed to 58.9 in August, a 15-month high and well above economists' estimates for a reading of 54.

Mr. Goldstein says as the economy pushes steadily higher, businesses will respond by adding overtime, and then by stretching productivity. Second-quarter productivity jumped to an annual growth rate of 5.7%, the fastest pace in nine months.

"If there's still more work to be done, the next shoe to hit the floor is to go out and get hold of temporary help," Mr. Goldstein says.

That is already happening. Temporary employment increased in July, for the third consecutive month. Temporary employment has grown by 122,000 jobs since April, according to the Department of Labor.

At the same time, layoffs are slowing, with the four-week average of jobless claims holding under 400,000 -- the level that indicates a stabilizing job market -- for four weeks.

At some point, U.S. companies will take the final step of hiring full-time workers, though that hasn't happened yet. The Conference Board's help-wanted index, a good leading indicator of job creation, tracks classified advertising volume in big U.S. newspapers. The index held steady at 38 in July, down from 44 a year ago. But, in the last three months, help-wanted advertising rose in six of the nine U.S. regions, and Mr. Goldstein says the labor market "may finally be bottoming."

Those whose careers consist of finding work for others report anecdotal improvements.

David Daniel, CEO of executive recruiting firm Spencer Stuart, said for the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, revenue is up about 10% compared with the entire previous fiscal year.

"We're seeing a bit more commitment to raise the level of investment in talent and human capital," says Mr. Daniel. It's getting better for sure, but it's too early to break out the champagne."

Of course, job losses at the executive level were never as severe as among the rank and file, the type who are likely to go job-surfing on Monster.com. Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, says overall job postings are about flat in the last seven quarters, but that certain sectors are stirring to life.

From February to July, information-technology postings on Monster's boards jumped 24%, health-care postings surged 24%, retail postings climbed 65% and computer and software postings rose 12%.

While all this is good news for the job market, the economy -- and ultimately, the stock market -- there is one ironic upshot: The unemployment rate may still increase down the road.

Because of the way employment statistics are tabulated, the unemployment rate can actually increase along with the availability of jobs.

"For you to be unemployed, you have to say 'I don't have a job, I want a job and in the past four weeks I've done something to get a job,'" says Steve East, chief economist for investment bank Friedman, Billings, Ramsey in Arlington, Virginia. "The fluctuations have been because people have changed their answer to 'Have you been looking for a job?' A whole lot more people get classified as unemployed because they stop eating bonbons and start sending out resumes."

If the headline number does turn higher again, it doesn't necessarily mean the economy is worse off.

"It often happens when people have the idea that the economy is getting better," Mr. East says, "and the search is not so fruitless."