US private sector adds nearly 300,000 jobs: ADP

WASHINGTON: The US private sector added 297,000 jobs in December, nearly three times the number expected by most analysts, private payrolls firm ADP data showed on Wednesday.

The stronger than expected increase marked the 11th straight month of gains in payrolls, offering hope that the jobs sector, still struggling in the post-recession recovery, is gaining traction.

"This month's ADP National Employment Report suggests nonfarm private employment grew very strongly in December, at a pace well above what is usually associated with a declining unemployment rate," ADP said in a statement. The ADP report came ahead of Friday's official monthly jobs data, a key gauge of the economy's health.

Persistently high unemployment hovering near 10 percent has been a major challenge to full recovery more than a year after the end of the worst recession in decades.

Analysts expected the Labor Department to report Friday the unemployment rate slipped to 9.7 percent in December, from 9.8 percent in November, and the economy added nonfarm 135,000 jobs, up from 39,000.