ADP estimates 118,000 jobs added in November

• ADP report precedes government's employment release Friday
• New partner seeks to improve ADP estimate's accuracy
• 'Fiscal cliff' seen holding back job growth

Businesses added a better-than-expected 118,000 jobs in November even though Superstorm Sandy dampened hiring in the Northeast, private payroll processor ADP reported Wednesday.

"This is especially impressive given the uncertainty created by the Presidential election and the fast-approaching fiscal cliff," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, which works with ADP to prepare the report.

The storm cut job gains by about 86,000, according to Zandi. It "wreaked havoc on the job market in November," he says, particularly affecting manufacturing, retail, leisure and hospitality, and temporary help services.

The ADP report may foreshadow somewhat stronger-than-expected job growth in the government's more closely-followed employment report on Friday.

Bloomberg's consensus forecast of economists estimates that the Labor Department will report non-farm employers added 87,000 jobs last month, with the private sector adding 93,000 and state, local and federal governments cutting 6,000.

In November, ADP estimates construction led job gains with 23,000, followed by transportation, trade and utilities, with 22,000. Professional and business services added 16,000 jobs and finance added 13,000, Moody's estimates. Manufacturers cut 16,000.

For the second straight month, large companies accounted for most of the job gains with 66,000. Mid-size companies added 33,000 and small businesses added 19,000.

ADP's report Wednesday is the second produced with its new partner, Moody's, a prominent economic forecasting firm. It is sampling more companies and using a different computer model to try to make its monthly report better forecast the Labor Department's employment estimate.

In October, ADP projected 158,000 private-sector job gains and Labor's estimate was 184,000. Total payroll additions were 171,000, with governments losing 13,000 jobs, Labor said.

The storm wasn't the only impediment to job growth last month. Businesses recently have indicated they're holding back on hiring and investment because of uncertainty over whether Congress can avert looming tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff.

At the same time, a recovering housing market has helped bolster the economy and consumer confidence.