The U.S. job market rose slightly in November according to a report issued days after government data showing the lowest number of job cuts in that month since December 2007, a research group said on Monday.

The Conference Board, a private research group, said its Employment Trends Index edged up to 90.8 from a downwardly revised 89.2 in October, originally reported as 89.3.

The index is down 9.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the group. In October it was down 13.2 percent.

Government data on Friday showed that U.S. employers shed 11,000 jobs in November, far fewer than expected, sending the unemployment rate down to 10 percent and likely signaling that the job market is on the mend.

Though the small amount of job losses in November suggests a sign of growth, the pace of hiring is likely to remain subdued because the economic recovery is expected to be weak throughout the first half of 2010, said Gad Levanon, Senior Economist at The Conference Board.

(Reporting by Camille Drummond; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Unemployment