WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. employers added jobs at a steady pace last month, lifted by robust gains in services and construction, according to a private survey.
Payroll processor ADP says businesses added 205,000 jobs in January, down from 267,000 in the previous month.
The figures suggest that companies focused on the domestic economy, particularly in services such as banking, retail and health care, are still hiring, despite slowing growth overseas and the strong dollar.
Those trends have held back manufacturers, who did not add any jobs last month.
The data comes just two days before the government's official jobs report for January. Economists forecast that report will show employers added 200,000 jobs and the unemployment rate remained 5 percent.
The ADP survey covers only private businesses and frequently diverges from the official figures.