US private sector hiring picks up US companies hired more workers than expected in June and jobless claims fell the most in two months last week in a set of positive signs for the US labour market. The private sector added 176,000 jobs last month, according to ADP, the payrolls processor. That was a stronger gain than the 100,000 new jobs forecast by economists following May's upwardly revised gain of 136,000. The figures came ahead of the labour department's report on Friday, which is expected to show the economy added 90,000 positions last month - well below the level associated with strong growth, but an improvement over May's tepid 69,000 increase. The ADP survey "is the first real encouraging piece of data ahead of Friday's [non-farm payrolls] release for the labour market," said David Semmens, senior US economist at Standard Chartered. While the market will be hesitant of getting too carried away it does definitely sit on the risk on side of the fence. Also on Thursday, the labour department said first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 14,000 last week to 374,000 - the biggest weekly drop since April. Economists had forecast a much smaller decline to 385,000. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out volatility, fell 1,500 to 385,750. Paul Dales, senior US economist at Capital Economics, said the claims figures were "another sign that, although labour market conditions are not as good as earlier in the year, they are not deteriorating drastically." ADP's data showed job growth was concentrated in the services sector, which added 160,000 jobs. Goods-producing businesses hired 16,000 workers, among which 4,000 were added in manufacturing.