The employment report prepared by Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and Moody's Analytics showed on Thursday the U.S. private employers added 195,000 jobs in August. That was the biggest increase since April.

Economists had expected a gain of 149,000.

The increase for July was revised down to 142,000 from the originally reported 156,000.

“In August we saw a rebound in private-sector employment,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and cohead of the ADP Research Institute. “This is the first time in the last 12 months that we have seen balanced job growth across small, medium and large-sized companies.”

Meanwhile, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “Businesses are holding firm on their payrolls despite the slowing economy. Hiring has moderated, but layoffs remain low. As long as this continues recession will remain at bay.”