Job creation remains steady in the face of economic headwinds, says Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody’s Analytics. 

Data from Automatic Data Processing services shows 198,000 jobs created in the U.S. last month, slightly down from a revised 215,000 positions created in January.

Still, job creation in financial activities remained modest, with only 7,000 jobs added in February, according to ADP. 

Comparatively, the construction industry added 21,000 positions, manufacturing added 9,000 jobs, trade and transportation created 45,000 positions and professional business services created 35,000 new jobs.

Small businesses continued to create the most new positions, with 77,000 jobs added. This segment was followed by medium businesses, which created 65,000 jobs and the large-business sector, which created 57,000 slots for employees.

It’s important to note the segment of the economy that generally creates lower-wage positions – the services industry – dominated the job creation charts.

“In February 2013, the U.S. private sector added a total of 198,000 new jobs, with most of this job growth occurring in the services sector,” said Carlos A. Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP.

“This growth can be attributed to comparable contributions across all three company size segments.”