Washington ? The economy is showing consistent signs of improvement, but probably not enough to stop employers from cutting jobs or to keep the unemployment rate from rising.

The Labor Department is expected to report today that the jobless rate increased to 9.5 percent in August, from 9.4 percent in July, as employers cut 225,000 jobs.

The employment report will follow other recent data that shows the economy is pulling out of the worst recession since World War II. A trade group reported Tuesday that the manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in 19 months, while home sales have increased for several months.

But the economy isn’t expected to grow strongly enough this year to persuade companies to ramp up hiring. Most economists expect the unemployment rate to top 10 percent by early next year.