The numbers: Companies in the private sector added 219,000 new employees to their payrolls in July, a payrolls processor estimated, showing that firms are managing to fill a record number of job openings despite growing shortages of skilled labor.

The increase in hiring was the strongest since February. Economists polled by Econoday had forecast a 173,000 increase, with estimates ranging from 150,000 to 220,000.

The number of new jobs generated in June was raised to 181,000 from 177,000, according to Automatic Data Processing. ADP estimates the level of hiring based on information collected from thousands of businesses for which it administers payrolls and benefits.

What happened: Small businesses created 52,000 jobs in July, ADP estimated. Medium-sized firms added 119,000 and large corporations filled 48,000 positions.

Big picture: The ADP estimate is meant to give investors a heads-up about the state of hiring a few days before the government’s official tally on how many new jobs are created each month. Figures from ADP and the Bureau of Labor Statistics are sometimes wildly at variance, but they usually to reflect the same trend.

The incontrovertible trend lately has been steady hiring, a low unemployment rate and rising incomes. The government on Friday is expected to report an increase of 193,000 new jobs, with unemployment falling to 3.9% from 4%.

Read:Screaming labor shortage forcing firms to get creative to fill record job openings

The big number for investors is wage growth. If it keeps rising, the Federal Reserve is likely to raise U.S. interest rates higher than previously expected, making bonds more attractive relative to stocks.

Read:Worker pay and benefits climbing at fastest pace in 10 years

What they are saying?: “The ADP survey has never been a great guide to the actual payrolls figures, but there is plenty of other evidence suggesting that jobs growth has remained strong,” said Andrew Hunter of Capital Economics.

“The ADP estimate is not a good predictor of the BLS figure, but today’s report may add a little to expectations of July job growth,” said chief economist Scott Brown of Raymond James.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.19% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.29% moved lower in Wednesday trades, with Apple’s post-earnings-report rally failing to keep the blue chips in the black. The stock market has recovered broadly after a swoon in June tied to growing worries over a threat of a trade war. The Dow has climbed 5% since early July to reach its highest level since February.

Read:Why Trump has tamped down trade tensions with Europe, but not China