Stocks jump after better-than-expected jobs report

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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks jumped Friday after the government's employment report showed fewer jobs were cut in February than expected.

Major stock indexes climbed more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which rose 122 points.

The Labor Department's monthly report is seen as the most important measure of the economy's health.

The better-than-expected jobs report helped push oil and other commodities higher. That helped energy and material companies like ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.

Apple Inc. got a big boost as well after the company said its iPad tablet computer willhit store shelves on April 3.

Employers cut 36,000 jobs last month, better than the 50,000 cuts forecast by economists polled by Thomson Reuters. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent. Economists were expecting it to rise to 9.8 percent.

Friday's gains, which followed a late-day rally on Thursday, suggests that investors are optimistic the U.S. economy is improving. Though employers aren't yet adding full-time staff, jobs growth is fundamental to a recovery because it puts money in more workers pockets, allowing them to increase spending.

"We haven't won the game yet," said James Meyer, chief investment officer at Tower Bridge Advisors. "We're just getting back to neutral. You can't get from negative to positive without crossing zero."

The Dow rose 122.06, or 1.2 percent, to 10,566.20. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 15.73, or 1.4 percent, to 1,138.70, while the Nasdaq composite index added 34.04, or 1.5 percent, to 2,326.35.