* Nonfarm payrolls forecast to increase 175,000 in November
* Unemployment rate seen unchanged at 4.9 percent
* Average hourly earnings expected to rise 0.2 percent
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. employers likely boosted hiring in November amid growing confidence in the economy, making it almost certain that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month.
Nonfarm payrolls probably increased by 175,000 jobs last month after rising by 161,000 in October, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The Labor Department will release its closely watched employment report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT).
Other recent data has shown the economy growing at a brisk clip in the third quarter, and shown gains in consumer spending, inflation, housing and manufacturing early in the fourth quarter.
"The economy is in good shape. The Fed has the green light to raise interest rates this month, and most likely they are going to raise a couple of times next year," said Jack McIntyre, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global in Philadelphia.
Economists said jobs growth could surprise on the upside, given that Hurricane Matthew, which lashed the U.S. East Coast in October, likely depressed the payrolls count in that month by as much as 40,000.
In addition, first-time applications for unemployment benefits dropped to 43-year lows in November and other labor market surveys were generally strong last month.
"That drag (from the hurricane) should reverse and boost November payrolls by a decent amount, supported by a shift to unusually mild weather across the country in the first half of November," said Ted Wieseman, an economist at Morgan Stanley in New York.
WAGE GROWTH TO SLOW
The unemployment rate is expected to have held steady at 4.9 percent last month.
An anticipated pullback in wage growth after two straight months of solid increases could put a wrinkle in an otherwise upbeat employment report. Average hourly earnings are forecast increasing by 0.2 percent after shooting up 0.4 percent in October.
The slowdown would lower the year-on-year gain in wages from October's 2.8 percent increase, which was the largest rise in nearly 7-1/2 years. The expected moderation largely reflects a calendar quirk, which economists expect Fed officials will overlook at their Dec. 13-14 policy meeting.
"We would chalk up most of this weakness to calendar effects and look through to the acceleration that has become more evident over recent months," said Andrew Hollenhorst, an economist at Citigroup in New York.
While a surge in U.S. government bond yields and a rally in the dollar in the wake of Donald Trump's election as the next president had tightened financial market conditions, economists said it was probably insufficient for the Fed to stand pat. The U.S. central bank raised its benchmark overnight interest rate last December for the first time in nearly a decade.