Private employment at U.S. corporations saw a sharp increase in February.

Job seekers attend a job fair in Los Angeles, United States, on the 2nd (local time) as the labor market remains solid, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics set to release October employment data on the 3rd. /Courtesy of AFP Yonhap

On the 4th (local time), Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a U.S. employment data firm, said private employment at U.S. corporations in February increased by 63,000 from the previous month.

That beat the 48,000 increase expected by experts compiled by Dow Jones. It was also the biggest gain since July last year.

In particular, the construction, education and health services institutional sector led the growth. The construction institutional sector added 19,000, and the education and health services institutional sector increased by 58,000.

By contrast, the professional and business services institutional sector fell by 30,000. The wage growth rate was 4.5% from a year earlier.

Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist, said, "Along with job gains, wage growth for workers who remain at their current jobs is holding steady," and noted, "However, because hiring is concentrated in a few industries, the wage boost from job switching is not appearing broadly."

The ADP private employment gauge for corporations is based on data collected by a private information firm and may differ from the U.S. government's official nonfarm payrolls.

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