U.S. private employers likely added 57,000 new jobs in February, according to a survey by ADP Employer Services, a private employment service, released on Wednesday.
The reading was lower than a median forecast of 90,000 for the ADP survey from economists, and added to a revised 121,000 increase in employment shown by the series in the previous month.
The revision was due to a change in methodology for all data going back to January 2001 for the monthly survey done by ADP and Macroeconomic Advisers LLC. The February 2007 report is the first regularly released ADP Report to incorporate those key methodology changes, ADP said. Among the changes ADP made to the survey was to increase its sample size, and add additional detail.
Small- and medium-sized businesses accounted for all of the increase, said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
"Large firms are under increased global competitive pressure," Prakken said.