Private employment in the United States rose slightly less than expected in February, based on data released on Wednesday.
Private employment rose by 140,000 positions last month after an upwardly-rated 111,000 increase in January, according to the ADP Jobs report. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an increase in private employment of 150,000 last month compared with a previously reported 107,000 in January.
The ADP report, developed in conjunction with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the release of the Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for February on Friday. The data tends to overstate the slowdown in the labor market compared to official employment data.
Based on a Reuters survey of economists, the Labor Department's Labor Statistics Division is expected to report that private sector employment increased by 160,000 positions last month after increasing by 317,000 in January.
Total non-farm payrolls are estimated to have increased by 200,000 positions after increasing by 353,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 3.7% and annual wage growth will slow to 4.4% from 4.5% in January.
