Investing.com - U.S. private employers added 250,000 jobs in December, well above economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor ADP showed on Thursday.
Economists had expected the ADP nonfarm payrolls report to show a gain of 191,000 jobs.
Private sector jobs increased by a downwardly revised 185,000 in November.
The ADP figures come ahead of the Labor Department's more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment.
Economists are expecting the U.S. economy to have added 190,000 jobs after adding 228,000 positions in November, while the unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 4.1%.