WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Private-sector employment growth slowed down in February, but still beat expectations, as the economy gained 198,000 private jobs, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported Wednesday morning. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the report to show a gain of 175,000 private-sector jobs in February. January saw an increase of 215,000 private jobs, compared with a prior estimate of 192,000, payrolls processor ADP said Wednesday. Markets look to ADP's report on private-sector payrolls to provide some guidance on the U.S. Department of Labor's jobs estimate, which will be released Friday and includes information on both private- and public-sector payrolls. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the government to report Friday that nonfarm-payroll employment rose 160,000 in February, about the same as a gain of 157,000 jobs in January. They also expect that the unemployment rate remained at 7.9%. While economists expect another month of steady job gains, the labor market remain far below its peak, as there are more than three million fewer jobs in the U.S. than when the recession began.