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The government's monthly report showed employers added 114,000 jobs in September, better than the 110,000 economists surveyed by CNNMoney had expected. And the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8%, falling below 8% for the first time since early 2009.
Markets in Europe were also boosted by the news. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, the DAX in Germany added 1.1% and France's CAC 40 gained 1.4%.
Later in the day, the Federal Reserve will release data on August consumer credit, which is expected to have expanded by $5 billion, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
U.S. stocks finished higher Thursday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi reiterated the central bank's commitment to its new bond-buying plan.
World Markets: Asian markets posted gains for the day. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.5%, while Japan's Nikkei ended 0.4% higher. Markets in Shanghai were closed this week for a holiday.
Companies: Shares of social gaming firm Zynga (ZNGA) plunged 20% in premarket trading, following the company's announcement that it was lowering its 2012 guidance.
Facebook (FB) shares shed more than 2% in premarket trading, a day after company declared 1 billion people use Facebook.
Related: Behind Iran's currency crash
Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro and British pound and Japanese yen.
Oil for November delivery fell 68 cents to $91.03 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery dropped $3.30 to $1,793.20 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing up the yield to 1.68% from 1.66% from late Thursday. 
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 15,303.10 | 8.60 | 0.06% |
| Nasdaq | 3,459.14 | -0.28 | -0.01% |
| S&P 500 | 1,649.60 | -0.91 | -0.06% |
| Treasuries | 2.01 | -0.01 | -0.59% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 13.24 | 0.03 | 0.23% |
| General Electric Co | 23.53 | -0.13 | -0.55% |
| Pfizer Inc | 29.04 | -0.07 | -0.24% |
| Microsoft Corp | 34.27 | 0.12 | 0.35% |
| Intel Corp | 23.92 | -0.13 | -0.53% |
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.75% | 3.66% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 2.89% | 2.79% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.66% | 2.59% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.74% | 3.64% | |
| 15 yr refi | 2.89% | 2.79% |
Today's featured rates:
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