US private sector employment rose by 234,000 jobs in January, down slightly from the gain of 242,000 in December, according to the ADP National Employment Report. However, the number still showed strong growth.

“We’ve kicked off the year with another month of unyielding job gains,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, VP and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “Service providers were firing on all cylinders, posting their strongest gain in more than a year. We also saw robust hiring from midsize and large companies, while job growth in smaller firms slowed slightly.”

The data show a continuing trend of robust hiring as companies remain desperate for skilled and experienced workers, according to Bloomberg.

The number of goods-producing jobs rose by 22,000 in January on gains of 12,000 manufacturing jobs, 9,000 construction jobs and 1,000 natural resources/mining jobs.

Service-providing jobs rose by 212,000 in January, including 51,000 jobs in trade/transportation/utilities; 47,000 in education/health services; and 46,000 in professional/business services. On the flip side, jobs in information fell by 3,000.

Large businesses added 85,000 jobs in January, midsize businesses added 91,000 jobs and small businesses added 58,000 jobs.

“The job market juggernaut marches on,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Given the strong January job gain, 2018 is on track to be the eighth consecutive year in which the economy creates over 2 million jobs. If it falls short, it is likely because businesses can’t find workers to fill all the open job positions.”