In a monthly ritual, payroll giant ADP has released its National Employment Report two days ahead of the official government numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. The ADP reports shows employment in private nonfarm employment growing by 170,000 last month. The service sector generated the greatest number (152,000) of those jobs.

Small business, those firms with up to 49 workers, generated the greatest number of jobs, adding 95,000 workers to their payrolls in January. Reflecting the larger trend, 84,000 of the jobs created by small businesses were in the service sector and only 11,000 in the goods producing sector. This disparity reflects the continued stagnation of the nation’s manufacturing base. Employment in large businesses (500 or more workers) increased by just 3,000 jobs according to ADP and medium-sized businesses (50 to 499 workers) added 72,000. The distribution of jobs across private sector businesses remains a concern for a White House that is seeking to increase federal government investment in areas that will boost job generation among America’s businesses.

There was a large drop in construction related jobs from December to January. In December employment increased by 27,000 but fell to 2,000 in January according to the ADP National Employment Report. During the President’s State of the Union Address last month, he again raised the issue of infrastructure improvements that would increase employment in the construction trades and suggested that savings from the nation’s military withdrawal from Iraq could be used to support those efforts. In addition, the massive transportation Act is up for renewal but differences persist between the administration and Republicans in Congress on how to fund the Highway Trust Fund.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its Employment Situation Summary for January on Friday at 8:30 am. The BLS data will provide a more detailed employment outlook by race and ethnicity as well as a sectorial analysis.