LONDON -- The jobless rate in the euro zone held steady in November amid rising expectations for a further improvement in the labor market in the coming months.

The unemployment rate was unchanged for the third month in a row at 8.3%, data from European Union statistics agency Eurostat showed Friday.

That was the lowest rate since May 2002, when 8.2% of the euro area's working-age population was without work.

The outcome matched the consensus forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

November's joblessness was part of a slow-moving trend of falling unemployment in the region during the past couple of years. In December 2003, the jobless rate hit 8.9%, where it remained for much of the following year.

The downward trend may soon gather momentum, according to the latest feedback from purchasing managers in the euro area. A weekly report on private-sector employment in December saw the strongest rise in employment since July 2001, as companies recruited to meet rising work loads. The strength was concentrated in the services sector, but the manufacturing work force also grew in December, for the first time since May 2001.

Unemployment in the 25-member European Union also remained stable for the third straight month in November, at 8.5%.

The jobless rate in the majority of EU member states either fell or held steady. A notable exception was Germany, where unemployment rose for the second consecutive month, to 9.3%, sharply higher than the 8.6% recorded in September.

Separately, U.S. job growth slowed in December, a sign the American economy may have lost some steam, but the labor market was still healthy enough for wage growth to pick up.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by just 108,000 jobs from November, the Labor Department said Friday. However, November's job gains were revised up sharply to 305,000 from 215,000. Economists said the 206,500 average for the two months is a better indication of underlying employment growth than the figures for November or December alone.

There were many encouraging signs in the report. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.9% from 5%, matching October's four-year low, according to revised data. Hourly wages rose 0.3% from November and 3.1% from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain in almost three years -- though still below the most recently reported inflation rate. Manufacturing employment rose by 18,000 jobs, its third straight increase. Moreover, claims for unemployment insurance in recent weeks have been low, suggesting employment growth maybe stronger in January than in December.

Still, the softer December job creation followed a report earlier in the week that manufacturing activity had slowed unexpectedly in December. A survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found that fewer of its small-business members are hiring: Just 13% added jobs in December, down from a 17% average in the prior two months, while 12% reduced jobs, up from 6%.