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The labor market has been among the weakest parts of the U.S. economy, and economists see gains in that area as evidence that the recovery is picking up steam. Manufacturing, on the other hand, has led the recovery.

U.S. private employers added a stronger-than-forecast 93,000 jobs in November, the biggest rise since November 2007, after an upwardly revised gain of 82,000 the month before, data by ADP Employer Services, which developed the report with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, showed Wednesday.

In a separate report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity dipped to 56.6 last month from 56.9 in October, in line with expectations and well above the 50 level which indicates expansion.

The report also showed employment plans were steady with the prior month.

The private payrolls rise "is just another sign of re-acceleration in the labor market. Some of the details suggest that there is a 60 percent chance that the government's payroll number could beat consensus," said John Canally, Investment Strategist at LPL Financial in Boston.

The U.S. government's monthly employment report on Friday is forecast to show another month of job gains in both the private and public sectors. In a Reuters poll, nonfarm payrolls are seen up 140,000 in November while private payrolls are seen up 153,000.

U.S. stocks ended up more than 2 percent, helped partly by the data but also by speculation that the European Central Bank would take tough measures to address the euro zone debt crisis. The U.S. dollar ended down against the euro, which snapped a three-day decline. Yields on benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year notes were sharply higher.

UNEMPLOYMENT STILL SEEN HIGH

Even though economists cheered the job gains, they noted the labor market still has a long way to go. Friday's jobs report is forecast to show the U.S. unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent in November.

Also, the number of planned layoffs in November by U.S. employers rose to the highest since March, according to a report by consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Employers announced 48,711 planned job cuts last month, up 28 percent from 37,986 in October, with the government and nonprofit sector leading the rise, the report showed.

A government report showing construction spending posted a 0.7 percent gain in October provided a more upbeat view of the economy. Expectations had been for a 0.4 percent decline in spending, a Reuters poll showed.

Another report showed that nonfarm productivity grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter. According to the government data, productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.3 percent rather than the 1.9 percent pace reported last month, as employers squeezed more output from workers and kept costs down.

Suggesting improvement in consumer demand also, U.S. auto sales rose 17 percent in November from a year earlier, according to manufacturers on Wednesday.

The two companies remain in direct negotiations, sources said on Wednesday.

"The more Google acquires, the more antitrust issues they are opening themselves up to," said a source familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity because the talks are ongoing. "That has to be considered."

The review process in the United States will take a long time, said one head of media investment banking who is not involved in the discussions.

But one argument that Google could make is that the barriers to entry for a discount coupon company are low, given the 80 to 100 participants already in the market, said a sector banker who is not involved in the talks.

A possible deal will undoubtedly bring more vendors and customers to one place, but that banker said Google will be able to assert that although it is buying a big participant, the deal is not anticompetitive.

Groupon said it would not address any speculation about its business, an apparent reference to media reports on Tuesday that Google was close to buying it for $6 billion.

Google shares gained 1.6 percent to close at $564.35 on Wednesday.

Chicago-based Groupon separately said it was acquiring Ludic Labs, which develops local marketing services including Offer Foundry and Diddit. It also announced the opening of an office in downtown Palo Alto, California, and plans to expand its team there from 25 people to more than 100 in the next year.

Late on Tuesday, Groupon said it had acquired three "daily deal" websites -- uBuyiBuy, Beeconomic and Atlaspost -- to expand its reach across East and Southeast Asia. Atlaspost has more than 1.2 million users in Taiwan, Groupon said.

Groupon did not disclose terms of any of the transactions.

The company sends its members daily e-mails with details of discounts for 200 goods and services. The deals are activated only when a minimum number of people agree to make a purchase, giving Groupon the clout to negotiate steep group discounts on products and services.

The three Asian companies, active in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, will transition to the Groupon brand in a few months.

Groupon also launched Groupon Hong Kong, Groupon Singapore, Groupon Philippines and Groupon Taiwan on Wednesday.

"We see enormous potential in the Asian marketplace," President Rob Solomon said in a statement.

Groupon's global network has more than 33 million subscribers in 35 countries.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller in New York and Melanie Lee in Shanghai; Editing by Chris Lewis, Lisa Von Ahn and Matthew Lewis)

The plan faced an uphill struggle to win sufficient backing to trigger a congressional vote. Even if that happens, analysts predict Congress won't take substantive steps to reduce the deficit this year.

Changes made to the plan included dropping a proposal to kill the popular mortgage interest tax deduction, as had been recommended on November 10. The revised version proposed a limited, 12 percent mortgage interest tax credit.

In an attempt to attract backing from elected lawmakers on the 18-member commission, the revised plan also backed off a proposal to tax capital gains and dividends as ordinary income and suggested a 20 percent investment income exclusion.

Two key senators -- Democrat Kent Conrad and Republican Judd Gregg -- said they would support the plan at a meeting on Wednesday. A final commission vote is set for Friday.

The panel's co-chairmen need 14 "yes" votes to trigger a congressional vote on the proposal. President Barack Obama set up the commission in February.

The panel's revised plan envisages reducing the budget deficit to 2.3 percent of gross domestic product by 2015, from 8.9 percent in the last fiscal year -- a figure bloated by efforts to lift the U.S. economy out of its deepest recession since the 1930s, Bush-era tax cuts and two costly wars.

To accomplish that goal, the plan urges deep cuts in military and domestic programs starting in 2012, a 15 cent per gallon hike in the gas tax and requiring Medicare participants to pay more costs themselves. It also recommends raising the age for receiving Social Security benefits.

SEVEN VOTES FOR PLAN

At Wednesday's meeting, seven commission members, including co-chairmen Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, expressed support for the plan; one member voiced opposition; and the remainder expressed concerns without committing one way or the other.

Bowles was chief of staff for former Democratic President Bill Clinton. Simpson is a former Republican senator.

Bowles vowed not to retreat from the hardest-hitting aspects of the plan, a result of months of debate. "Al and I are not going to wimp out. For us, it's go big or go home ... We're not interested in 14 votes for a whitewash," Bowles said.

Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky, a commission member, said "I can't support it and will be voting no."

Republican Representative Paul Ryan said: "I don't believe this sufficiently fixes the healthcare problem."

AARP, which represents millions of older Americans, said the plan would cut Social Security too deeply and raise Medicare costs for beneficiaries.

The U.S. central bank's Beige Book showed more anecdotal evidence that the economy remains unable to break into a faster expansion needed to generate sufficient job growth. The report appeared unlikely to derail the Fed's latest efforts to push down borrowing costs by boosting its purchases of Treasury debt.

"Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicate that the economy continued to improve, on balance, during the reporting period from early/mid-October to mid-November," the Fed said in the report, which was released ahead of its next policy meeting on December 15.

The Fed said economic activity in the Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco districts increased at a "slight to modest" pace, while the New York, Richmond, Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City districts reported a "somewhat stronger" pace of activity.

Philadelphia and St. Louis reported business conditions as "mixed", the Fed said.

The Beige Book showed that manufacturing activity continued to expand in almost all districts, with "relatively strong growth seen in the metal fabrication and the automotive industries."

But it said housing markets remained depressed, with several districts reporting a further weakening in the sector over the past six weeks.

Reports on consumer spending were seen as positive, with several districts expecting holiday sales to exceed year-ago levels. But the Fed noted that households were sensitive to prices and were still focused on buying necessities.

"Hiring activity showed some improvement across most districts, although employers are waiting for clearer signals of expanding business prospects before adding significantly to payrolls," the Fed said. Atlanta and Chicago reported a preference for hiring temporary workers, while staffing firms in Dallas described hiring activity as "strong".

Wage pressures remained "subdued" across districts, indicating little inflation pressure.

The Fed said prices for final goods and services were fairly stable across districts despite rising input costs, especially for agricultural commodities, metals and fuel.

(Reporting by David Lawder, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)