WASHINGTON — U.S. private payrolls posted their biggest drop in more than two and a half years in November as small businesses shed jobs, but the weakness is probably not a true reflection of the labor market’s health, with recent government data showing still-low layoffs.

Economists also cautioned against reading too much into the unexpected decline shown in the ADP employment report on Wednesday, arguing the monthly estimate has diverged from the government’s private payrolls count produced by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some economists said combining employment measures from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Conference Board and regional Federal Reserve surveys showed labor market softness, but not the deterioration suggested by the ADP data.

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