The nation’s businesses cranked up hiring in November after a two-month lull, a sign the labor market is back in the groove as the ill effects of the Gulf Coast hurricanes fade.

Employers expanded payrolls by 215,000 jobs last month, the most since July. The unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent.

The Labor Department’s fresh snapshot of the jobs situation, released Friday, suggested employers are in a better hiring mood now that energy prices have retreated from record highs and disruptions to commerce from the hurricanes are easing.

For President Bush – confronted with some of the lowest job approval ratings of his presidency – recently improving economic news hasn’t helped his standing with the public.