ADP: Feb Private-Sector Jobs Up 216K, As Expected

Private-business hiring in February was solid, according to a report released Wednesday. As has been the case in recent months, the gain was fueled by small-business hiring.

Private-sector jobs in the U.S. increased 216,000 last month, according to a national employment report published by payroll giant Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and consultancy Macroeconomic Advisers.

The gain was close to expectations of 215,000 put forth by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

The January data were revised to show a gain of 173,000 instead of the 170,000 increase reported earlier. ADP also announced revisions to the 2011 job numbers to reflect new seasonal factors and regressional estimates to put the ADP data closer in line with the Labor Department's payroll series.

The ADP survey tallies only private-sector jobs, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics' nonfarm payroll data, to be released Friday, include government workers.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect total nonfarm payrolls rose by a solid 213,000 slots in February.

The ADP measure is unlikely to cause economists to alter their payrolls forecast.

The February unemployment rate is expected to remain at 8.3%.

The latest ADP report showed large businesses with 500 employees or more added 20,000 employees to their staffs in January, while medium-size businesses added 88,000 workers and small businesses that employ fewer than 50 workers hired 108,000 new workers.

Service-sector jobs increased by 170,000 last month, and factory jobs increased 21,000.

ADP, of Roseland, N.J., says it processes payments of one in six U.S. workers. Macroeconomic Advisers, based in St. Louis, is an economic-consulting firm.

On Tuesday, TrimTabs Investment Research said only 149,000 new jobs were created in February. TrimTab uses data on withholding tax collections to estimate payrolls.

-By Kathleen Madigan, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2466; kathleen.madigan@dowjones.com

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