The numbers: Private-sector employment soared in September, as employers added 230,000 jobs, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported Wednesday. This is the highest hiring rate since February. The gain was well above forecasts from economists polled by Econoday, who had expected on average an increase of 179,000. August’s gain was upwardly revised to show 168,000 growth instead of a previously estimated 163,000.

What happened: Details of ADP’s report showed that small firms added 56,000 jobs in September, medium-size businesses added 99,000 to large companies added 75,000.

What they are saying?: “This labor market is rip-roaring hot, and it is just going to get a lot hotter. The risk that this economy overheats is very high and this is just one more piece of evidence of that,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, in an interview on CNBC.

Big picture: The labor market has been on fire this year, with job gains averaging 207,000 a month over the first 8 months of the year.

ADP doesn’t pick up any impact from Hurricane Florence because everyone who is on a payroll is counted, whether they worked or not.

Economists use ADP’s data to get a feeling for the Labor Department’s employment report, which will be released Friday and covers government jobs in addition to the private sector. The ADP gain is well above estimates of the government’s data according to economists polled by MarketWatch.

Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the Labor Department’s nonfarm payroll jobs rose 168,000 in September, down from 201,000 in the prior month. The unemployment rate is expected to slip to 3.8% from 3.9% in August. That would match the 18-year low hit in May.