U.S. private-sector employment rose by 216,000 in February, seasonally adjusted, according to the national employment report released today by Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASD: ADP). Meanwhile, January’s employment growth was revised upward to 173,000, from the initially reported 170,000.

The service-providing sector added 170,000 jobs in February, while employment in the goods-producing sector rose by 46,000.

“This month’s employment gains in the ADP national employment report continue to be solid, with job growth averaging just over 200,000 for the past five months,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and CEO of ADP. “Also, for February, virtually every sector of the economy added jobs — something I hope will continue for the rest of 2012.”

Small businesses, those with fewer than 50 workers, added 108,000 jobs in February. Large business, those with 500 or more workers, gained 20,000 jobs, while midsize businesses added 88,000 jobs.

The report is derived from a sample of ADP data that averaged approximately 500,000 U.S. business clients. During 2011, this subset averaged about 344,000 U.S. business clients, representing more than 21 million U.S. employees.