WASHINGTON – Small businesses ended 2014 with another strong month of hiring activity, with the addition of 106,000 workers to their collective payrolls in December, according to the latest round of data issued by payroll processing firm ADP. According to a report in the Washington Post this week, that’s up from 99,000 added the month before and the fourth consecutive month of employment growth exceeding 90,000.

All told, small businesses added more than 1 million employees in 2014, averaging monthly additions of 90,000 workers — up from last year’s pace of about 80,000 per month. Employers of all sizes added 241,000 jobs in December, according to the report from ADP.

According to the Washington Post report, it was slightly larger small businesses that led the way in December, with businesses employing 20 to50 workers adding 60,000 positions — the highest monthly total for that subset in 2014. Companies with fewer than 20 employees added 46,000 jobs. Service-producing firms added 94,000 jobs, while goods-producing businesses added 12,000 workers.