Private-sector payrolls increased more than expected in November, the most in five months and the latest indication of steady USA job growth.
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Private businesses may have added 190,000 workers after rising 268,000 the month before, the survey projections also showed.
Fed policy makers will use the jobs data to help determine how close the economy is to full employment, part of their dual mandate that also includes steady price growth.
“Job growth remains strong and steady”, said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which produces the report with ADP.
The report indicated solid strength in the jobs market ahead of the Labor Department’s official employment data for November to be released on Friday.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expect the BLS to report an increase of 200,000 nonfarm payrolls for November, down from the much stronger-than-expected 271,000 reported in October. The U.S. central bank last raised interest rates in June 2006.
The dollar rose to session highs against the yen and the euro after that data. US manufacturers scaled back on labor because of a more hard sales environment and an excess buildup in inventories.
The productivity of USA businesses rose at a 2.2% annual pace in the third quarter, faster than previously reported. The trend, however, remained very weak.
Productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, has slowed considerably in recent years a worrisome trend because it is considered the key factor in boosting living standards. The upward revision matched economist estimates. The economy grew at a 2.1 percent rate in the July-September period.
But over the past year, productivity is up just 0.6 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate has fallen to a six-year low of 5%. Still, that’s the first drop in hours worked since the third quarter of 2009. And unit-labor costs advanced 2% in the second quarter instead of falling 1.8% as previously reported.
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Hourly compensation for all workers rose at a healthy 4% annual pace in the third quarter, or 2.4% adjusted for inflation.
