Private companies employed more people in the month of January than previously predicted, according to report based on payrolls.

The 192,000 increase in employment, the most since February 2012, followed a revised 185,000 gain in December, figures from the Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Research Institute said on Wednesday.

The median forecast of 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a January advance of 165,000.

"U.S. private sector employment got off to a good start in 2013,"said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP. "According to the ADP National Employment Report, private sector employers created an average of 183,000 new jobs per month during the last three months. This is an encouraging sign of steady improvement in the job market."

The report reflects growth across a variety of industries, led by professional and business services, a category that includes a variety of occupations like advertisers and bookkeepers, which added 40,000 jobs.

The trade, transportation, and utilities category also saw strong growth, adding 33,000 jobs. Construction also added a strong 15,000 jobs, indicating that the industry may be recovering from the long-standing post-recession housing slump.

"The job market is slowly but steadily improving," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics Inc., said in a statement. Moody's produces the figures with ADP. "Construction is finally kicking into gear and more than offsetting the weakness in manufacturing."