US private sector employment rose by 235,000 jobs in February, down from the gain of 244,000 in January but still “red hot,” according to the ADP National Employment Report.

“The labor market continues to experience uninterrupted growth,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, VP and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “We see persistent gains across most industries with leisure and hospitality and retail leading the way as consumer spending kicked up. At this pace of job growth, employers will soon become hard-pressed to find qualified workers.”

The results show a continued trend of robust hiring as companies hunt for employees to fill empty spots, according to Bloomberg. The ADP reading compares with the median estimate of economists for 198,000 private-sector job gains in February.

The number of goods-producing jobs rose by 37,000 in February on gains of 21,000 construction jobs, 14,000 manufacturing jobs and 2,000 natural resources/mining jobs.

Service-providing jobs rose by 198,000 in February, including 50,000 jobs in leisure/hospitality; 46,000 in professional/business services; and 44,000 jobs in trade/transportation/utilities.

Jobs in information posted the only decline, falling by 1,000.

Large businesses added 70,000 jobs in February, midsize businesses added 97,000 jobs and small businesses added 68,000 jobs.

“The job market is red hot and threatens to overheat,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “With government spending increases and tax cuts, growth is set to accelerate.”