WASHINGTON — Employers posted slightly more job openings in February, suggesting that modest hiring gains will continue in coming months.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that employers advertised 3.5 million job openings in February. That’s up from a revised 3.48 million in January but still below the three-year high of 3.54 million in December.

The fact that job openings remained steady in February suggests that the disappointing March jobs report issued last week could be a temporary bump. It usually takes one to three months for employers to fill openings.

Employers added 120,000 jobs in March — half the average from the previous three months.

The unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent to 8.2 percent in March, though that was mostly because people gave up looking for work.

Many economists downplayed the weak March figures, noting that a warmer winter may have led to some earlier hiring in January and February.

Tuesday’s report “is another indication that the weather was the main factor last month and the underlying labor market is on reasonably firm ground,” said Alan Levenson, chief economist at T. Rowe Price. “The payroll gain in April will be better than the one in March.”

There is still heavy competition for each available opening. With 12.8 million people unemployed, there are on average 3.7 people out of work for each open position.