Hiring picked up in February, but not enough to tamp down a rise in unemployment among Americans with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.

The jobless rate for those with disabilities grew to 14.3 percent last month, an increase over 13.3 percent the month prior.

The rise came even as a greater number of people with disabilities were employed, the Labor Department said.

The trend mirrored the experience of the workforce at large. While the economy added 175,000 jobs in February, the unemployment rate for the general population increased slightly to 6.7 percent.

Federal officials began tracking employment among people with disabilities in October 2008. There is not yet enough data compiled to establish seasonal trends among this population, so statistics for this group are not seasonally adjusted.

Data on people with disabilities covers those over the age of 16 who do not live in institutions. The first employment report specific to this population was made available in February 2009. Now, reports are released monthly.