Stocks Rally As Job Growth Surprises Wall Street
NEW YORK (AP) — The biggest corporate hiring spree in five years is reversing a week-long slide in the stock market.
The Labor Department said Friday that the economy added 244,000 jobs overall last month, well above the 185,000 jobs that economists had predicted. Private employers added the most new jobs since February 2006.
The unemployment rate rose, however, to 9.0 percent from 8.8 percent in part because more people resumed looking for work.
Stocks are rallying broadly, lifting all 10 company types that make up the S&P 500 index.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 156 points, or 1.2 percent, to 12,741. The S&P 500 is up 18, or 1.3 percent, to 1,353. The Nasdaq composite is up 42, or 1.5 percent, to 2,856.
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