NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private employers added more jobs than expected in July, though less than in June, but planned layoffs rose to a 16-month high, according to separate surveys on Wednesday.

The data comes ahead of the U.S. government’s key jobs report on Friday, which is forecast to show the pace of job creation accelerated last month. The economy is expected to have gained 85,000 jobs, not enough to push the unemployment rate below its current 9.2 percent.  Read more