ADP says 216,000 jobs added in February

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ROSELAND, N.J., March 7 (UPI) -- Payroll firm Automatic Data Processing Inc. said the U.S. economy added 216,000 private sector jobs in February, about 8,000 more than economists expected.

ADP also said January's gain was higher than previously published. The firm said 173,000 jobs were added to the economy in January, not 170,000.

In February, small businesses, those with fewer than 50 employees, added 108,000 jobs, while medium-sized businesses, those with 50-499 workers, added 88,000 jobs.

In a noticeable shift, firms with more than 500 workers added 20,000 jobs in February, significantly higher than January, when larger firms added 3,000 jobs to the economy.

In February, among small businesses, 90,000 jobs were in service work, while 18,000 were in goods-producing jobs, the payroll firm said.