The nation's employment numbers showed little improvement in long-term joblessness in February, while more workers fell into "involuntary part-time employment," the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

Nearly 41 percent of the nation's 14.9 million unemployed workers have been jobless for 27 weeks or more, with February's numbers showing little progress from the all-time high reached in January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In January, the percentage was 41.2; February's number was 40.9.

While the nation's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7 percent, the number of Americans working part-time who wanted full-time jobs rose to 8.8 million in February. That increase partially offset a large drop in January to 8.3 million. "Involuntary part-time employment" was about 9.2 million at the end of 2009.

A White House official acknowledged that the labor market remains "severely distressed," but said February's numbers are consistent with a pattern of stabilization and "gradual healing."

January's surprise 0.3 percent drop in unemployment held in February, noted Christina Romer, who chairs the Council of Economic Advisers, in a statement posted on the White House blog Friday.

"That it was maintained for a second month makes it more likely that it was a genuine decline, not statistical noise," Romer stated, adding that "the number of workers unemployed for more than 26 weeks fell by 180,000, the first decline in over a year.''

Romer also attributed some of the increase in part-time employment to the fact that 15,000 workers have been hired by the U.S. Census Bureau, a trend that will continue through the summer.

The Labor Department cited severe weather in several parts of the country that closed schools, government agencies and businesses, but noted that there are too many unknowns to say how much the weather affected February's labor numbers.

The Up:

Temporary help services: 48,000 jobs added; since September 284,000 jobs have been added in this category.

The Downs:

Construction: Jobs fell by 64,000, with nonresidential specialty trades again accounting for much of the decline.

Information industry: 18,000 jobs lost.