Wall Street Journal (03/07/12) Kathleen Madigan

Private-sector payrolls increased by 216,000 in February, led by the service-providing sector and small businesses, according to the ADP employment report released today. The gain was close to expectations of 215,000 put forth by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. The January gain was revised to 173,000 from a prior estimate of 170,000. As has been the case in recent months, the gain was fueled by small-business hiring.

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 by 21,000.