NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - U.S. private employers added 192,000 jobs in January, more than economists were expecting, in a sign of growth in the labor market, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 165,000 jobs. December's private payrolls were revised down to an increase of 185,000 from the previously reported 215,000.

STORY

COMMENTS:

RAY STONE, ECONOMIST< STONE & MCCARTHY RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY:

'December was revised to 185,000 so with a 194,000 gain in January, the numbers for the two months are virtually the same, consistent with same sort of outcome on the Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the Labor Department. I'm forecasting that report will show another 155,000 jobs were added to payrolls in January.

'We don't have a long history of the ADP with Moody's doing it. Before it was Macro Economic Advisors. So we don't want to put to much emphasis on it. Moody's uses a different approach. They use a model based approach where they use a lot of lag variables. I don't know how much is bsed on their sample and how much is based on their model. The new information is the sample. As a forecaster, it's less valuable to me. That said, the estimates may be better. But for me looking for new information, it's hard for me to discern what that new information is.'

ANDREW GRANTHAM, ECONOMIST, CIBC WORLD MARKETS, TORONTO:

'Private sector firms added 192,000 to their payrolls in January, surpassing consensus expectations for 165,000. However, a 30,000 downward revision to the prior month largely offsets the upside surprise from the latest number.

'The detail showed manufacturing employment down slightly, but other sectors continuing to take on staff. On this series, the trend in employment growth remains slightly upward, and that could provide a better indication of the underlying health of the U.S. economy than Q4 GDP, which will show a significant easing in part due to one-off factors such as Hurricane Sandy.

'As the ADP survey overstated payroll growth on first release in December (as it has done historically) this figure may not significantly change expectations ahead of Friday. We maintain our call for an above-consensus 188,000 gain in Friday's non-farm payrolls. Market reaction should also be limited due to the prior revision and as we look forward to the GDP release.'

OMER ESINER, ANALYST, COMMONWEALTH FOREIGN EXCHANGE, WASHINGTON:

'Certainly a better than expected reading of the jobs market by ADP. The data suggests that jobs growth is accelerating and bodes well for Friday's payrolls report. We will probably see a limited reaction from the dollar ahead of GDP and the Fed this afternoon.'

TODD SCHOENBERGER, MANAGING PARTNER AT LANDCOLT CAPITAL IN NEW YORK:

'Not a surprise at all, actually. This is a prelude to the optimistic reading we'll receive on Friday. We're post 'fiscal cliff' drama, so a lot of people who were waiting on the sidelines are hiring now. Wall Street should react well to this.'

MARKET REACTION:

FOREX: The dollar Briefly extended gains versus the yen

BONDS: U.S. treasuries declined, and the 10-year yield rose at 2.014 percent

GRAPHIC: ADP vs. the U.S. Labor Department: The ADP National Employment Index shows an increase of 192,000 private sector jobs in January - 27,000 more than analysts expect Friday's Labor Department report to show. http://link.reuters.com/fex44t

(Americas Economics and Markets Desk; +1-646 223-6300)

Keywords: USA ECONOMY/INSTANT

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