ADP report suggests 670,000 fall in Dec payrolls

NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - A report showing U.S. private employers shed 693,000 jobs in December suggests the government's more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday will show a loss of about 670,000 jobs, Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, said on Wednesday.

U.S. private employers shed 693,000 jobs in December, up sharply from the revised 476,000 jobs lost in November and far more than economists estimated, according to a report by ADP Employer Services.

The private sector jobs report was released by ADP Employer Services and jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC. The ADP report does not include government job cuts or additions.

"If we assume that governments added say 20-odd thousand jobs then this morning's number would correspond to a decline of about maybe 670,000 or so for total employment," Prakken told a teleconference of journalists. (Reporting by Burton Frierson; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)