<p>Private employers hired 298,000 new employees in February &ndash; more than in any single month in three years and up from 261,000 in January. ;</p>
<p>This information comes from a recent ADP employment report, which also shows unprecedented growth in mining, construction, and manufacturing: ;</p>
<p>&bull; Construction added 66,00 jobs (best in 11 years)</p>
<p>&bull; Manufacturing added 32,000 jobs (best in 5 years)</p>
<p>&bull; Mining added 8,000 jobs</p>
<p>&ldquo;Unseasonably mild winter weather undoubtedly played a role,&rdquo; says Mark Zandi of Moody&rsquo;s Analytics, the company that compiled the report. &ldquo;But near record high job openings and record low layoffs underpin the entire job market.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>This increase in hiring affected all sorts of businesses:</strong></p>
<p>&bull; Medium-sized firms added 122,000 jobs</p>
<p>&bull; Professional and business services added 66,000 jobs</p>
<p>&bull; Healthcare and education added 40,000</p>
<p>&bull; Leisure and hospitality firms added 40,000 jobs ;</p>
<p>The ADP report comes just a few days ahead of the government&rsquo;s February jobs report, which focuses on private and government hiring. The Federal Reserve will take this report into account when it meets next week to decide whether it will raise short-term interest rates &ndash; something that has happened only twice in the past decade. ;</p>
<p>While ADP reports typically are not indicative of government jobs reports, most analysts believe interest rates will go up.  ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last week that the US central bank would likely raise rates later this month as long as economic data on jobs and inflation held up,&rdquo; reports <em>Fox Business. ;</em></p>