Businesses with fewer than 50 employees on the payroll accounted for nearly half of the new private sector jobs created in the US in July.

This is according to data and research firm ADP, which finds 163,000 new jobs added by the private sector last month.

This includes 9,000 new jobs in financial services, the 12 consecutive monthly gain.

Almost all (148,000) of these came in service sectors, and 73,000 of the total were jobs in small businesses, closely followed by medium-sized firms with 50-499 employees and larger businesses added 15,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, data from the Labor Department shows unemployment rates lowering in 328 out of the US’s 372 metropolitan areas.