WASHINGTON, Jan.31 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. private sector added more jobs than expected in January, signaling a robust start to the year in hiring, according to data released by the ADP Research Institute on Wednesday.

Payrolls at non-farm private companies increased by 234,000 in January, beating market expectations. Small private-sector businesses added 58,000 jobs in January, medium-sized businesses added 91,000 and large businesses added 85,000, according to the report.

The hiring in the first month of the new year bodes well for the remainder of 2018, says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics.

"Given the strong January job gain, 2018 is on track to be the eighth consecutive year in which the economy creates over 2 million jobs," he said. "If it falls short, it is likely because businesses can't find workers to fill all the open job positions."

The ADP National Employment Report is jointly developed with Moody's Analytics.