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Private employers in the US shed 32,000 jobs in November, according to unofficial data that has gained a more prominent role since the record government shutdown delayed the release of official figures.
Wednesday’s figure from payroll processor ADP compares with expectations of a 10,000-job gain among economists polled by Reuters and an upwardly revised 47,000 rise the previous month.
The report has been closely watched in recent months after the shutdown of the federal government, which ended in mid-November, halted the publication of official statistics, causing some reports to be delayed and others scrapped.
The official November employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been postponed until December 16, after the Federal Reserve meets next week to vote on interest rates.
Short-term US government bond yields, which are sensitive to expectations for monetary policy, fell slightly after the report. The two-year Treasury note yield was down 0.04 percentage points to 3.47 per cent.
This is a developing story