U.S. private sector adds 217,000 jobs in November: ADP

[December 02, 2015]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. private employers added 217,000 jobs in November, above expectations and the most since June, signaling job growth is likely strong enough to support the first Federal Reserve interest rate hike in nearly a decade when policymakers meet later this month, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 190,000 jobs.

Private payroll gains in October were revised up to 196,000from an originally reported 182,000 increase.

The report is jointly developed with Moody's Analytics. The ADP figures come ahead of the U.S. Labor Department's more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment.

Economists polled by Reuters are projecting the Labor Department's report to show U.S. employers hired 200,000 workers in November. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold at 5.0 percent. <ECONUS>

(Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.