Employers in the U.S. hired fewer workers in November and the unemployment rate rose to a 16-month high, reflecting a loss of confidence in the economic expansion, economists said before a report this week.

The economy created 75,000 jobs, less than half October’s 166,000 gain, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the Labor Department’s Dec. 7 report. The jobless rate rose to 4.8 percent from 4.7 percent, based on the survey.

Companies are curbing expenses as the economy is forecast to nearly stall this quarter under the weight of the worsening housing slump. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last week said consumers face “headwinds,” and the labor market was “important” for sustaining growth.

“The labor market is adding to the list of reasons the consumer is in trouble,” said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. “If employment growth is weakening, then so will spending.”

There is already evidence Americans are scaling back.

Consumer spending rose less than forecast in October and incomes increased at the slowest pace in six months, figures last week from the Commerce Department showed. Spending stalled when adjusted for inflation, the figure used in calculating economic growth.

Auto sales in November were probably the third weakest of the year, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC probably all posted declines compared with November 2006. Automakers will release November results tomorrow. [MORE]