U.S. fixed mortgage rates jumped to an almost three-month high following stronger-than-expected October nonfarm payrolls, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rose to 4.46 percent, the highest since mid-September, in the week ending Thursday from 4.29 percent in the previous week, the U.S. mortgage giant said in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The 15-year FRM, a popular guide for those looking to refinance, also edged up to 3.47 percent this week from 3.30 percent in the prior week, the survey showed.

"Fixed mortgage rates increased this week following stronger than expected economic data releases," Freddie Mac's chief economist Frank Nothaft said in a statement. "Private companies added 215,000 new jobs in November according to the ADP (Automatic Data Processing) employment report, well above the consensus."

Mortgage rates have climbed from near-record low levels in May as the Federal Reserve weighs the timing of unwinding its bond purchase program.

A series of recent strong economic data has made investors speculate that the Fed may start trimming bond purchases in the coming months. Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said Thursday that consideration of whether to scale back the pace of asset purchase should be "on the table" in December.