Private sector payrolls in the U.S. grew by 281,000 in June, according to a report by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and analysis provider Moody’s Analytics (MCO). Economists had expected the report to show a 205,000 gain in employment, according to Bloomberg data.

“The June jobs number is a welcome boost,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and CEO of ADP. “The number of construction jobs added was particularly encouraging, representing the highest total in that industry since February of 2006.”

Meanwhile, the May ADP employment remained unchanged from the 179,000 additional jobs reported a month ago. The ADP data excludes government employees.

The ADP data are released ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report, which records non-farm payrolls, the unemployment rate and other data. The June jobs report is due Thursday morning ahead of the July 4 holiday, and economists expect it to show 215,000 jobs were created last month keeping the unemployment rate steady at 6.3%, the same as May.

“The job market is steadily improving,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Job gains are broad based across all industries and company sizes. Judging from the job market, the economic recovery remains fully intact and is gaining momentum.”

ADP reported the professional and business services segment had the strongest growth last month, followed by goods-producing employment including construction and manufacturing. Employers of all sizes added workers, with small businesses with 1 to 49 employees adding the most.