U.S. businesses increased hiring last month, led by strong gains in retail, finance, and other service industries, a private-sector study found Wednesday, suggesting that job growth is strong enough to support the first Federal Reserve (Fed) interest-rate increase in almost a decade next month. Payroll processor ADP said private-sector employers added 217,000 jobs in November, the most in five months and up from 196,000 jobs in October. Service-sector companies added 204,000 jobs, while manufacturers hired only 6,000. Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which compiles the ADP data, said hiring was strong in most industries excluding the oil and natural-gas sector, which has been hurt by low oil prices, and factories that compete with overseas producers. The strong November job gains suggest solid underlying momentum in the economy despite a struggling manufacturing sector. Specifically, steady consumer spending is supporting greater hiring in services, which includes higher-paying professional positions such as information-technology and engineering jobs. That is helping to offset weak job gains in sectors like manufacturing, which is struggling with weak overseas economies and the strong U.S. dollar The ADP report was released ahead of the U.S. government's more comprehensive November employment report on Friday. Economists expect 190,000 jobs were added last month, up slightly from 182,000 in October.
