U.S. private employers added 212,000 jobs last month, lower than market expectations as well as January’s revised figure, a payrolls processor report showed on Wednesday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report to show a gain of 220,000 jobs.
January’s private payrolls, meanwhile, were revised upward to 250,000 from the previously reported 213,000.
The report is jointly developed by ADP with Moody’s Analytics.
The ADP figures come ahead of the U.S. Labor Department’s more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment.
Economists polled by Reuters are looking for total U.S. employment to have grown by 240,000 jobs in February, down from 257,000 in January. The unemployment rate, on the other hand, is expected to have ticked lower to 5.6 percent from January’s 5.7 percent.
