U.S. payrolls in November rose above the forecast number, decreasing the pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by half a point next week, Bloomberg reported.

Employers added 94,000 jobs after a rise of 170,000 in October, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Hourly earnings increased, but the jobless rate unexpectedly remained at 4.7 percent for the third month in a row.

Economists had forecast payrolls would increase by 80,000, according to the median of 82 estimates, compared with the original gain of 166,000 reported in October. Predictions ranged from a loss of 5,000 to a 195,000 gain.

The job growth numbers could prop up spending as decreased home values and tightening credit access threaten to send the nation’s economy into its first recession since 2001. Ten-year Treasury yields hit their highest level in two weeks as bonds fell and stocks climbed.

“It buys the economy time and allows the Fed to lower rates without panicking,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., whose payrolls forecast tied for closest in Bloomberg’s survey. “The economy is slowing down in the fourth quarter, but not so rapidly that you’re going to have a big downdraft in consumer spending.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other policy makers emphasized the importance of the report in the days leading up to their Dec. 11 meeting. Economists expect a quarter-point reduction in the target rate for overnight loans between banks. Futures prices showed the probability of a half-point move fell to 28 percent, from 36 percent yesterday.