NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are narrowly mixed in early trading after the unemployment rate unexpectely dipped last month.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent from 10 percent in December. However, employers cut 20,000 jobs last month, more than the 5,000 economists expected.
Worries about unemployment and the economic recovery have sent stocks sliding over the past three weeks, including a plunge Thursday that took the Dow Jones industrials down 268 points.
In early trading, the Dow is up 18.22, or 0.2 percent, at 10,020.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 2.20, or 0.2 percent, at 1,065.31, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 9.13, or 0.4 percent, at 2,134.56.
