NEW YORK – 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 will hit 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."

According to preliminary calculations, 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.

Five stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume rose to 1.1 billion shares from 960.8 million Thursday.

For the week, the Dow rose 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 index jumped 3.1 percent and the Nasdaq rose 3.9 percent.

Signs of future job growth were encouraging in the report. Temporary workers, which are often seen as a precursor to employers adding full-time staff, rose 48,000 last month. Average hourly earnings rose by 3 cents to $22.46.

Analysts say Thursday's productivity report also provided positive signs about future jobs growth heading into the jobs report. Worker productivity rose by 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter.

Employers can only squeeze so much production out of current workers before they need to add more staff, said Michael Cannivet, portfolio manager at Palo Capital.

The Labor Department wouldn't quantify if severe snowstorms that pummeled the East Coast last month had any impact on the report. Economists estimated before the report that the storms could inflate job losses by 100,000 or more.

Jerry Harris, president and chief investment officer at Sterne Agee Asset Management, said March's results could be even better because the bad weather likely negatively affected February's data.

Energy companies were among the biggest winners on the day as oil rose $1.29 to $81.50 a barrel. Chevron shares rose $1.22 to $74.30, while ExxonMobil rose $1.07 to $66.47.

Financial stocks also got a boost from the improved employment data, which might lead to fewer loan losses. A recovery in the labor market is "the most critical factor" in getting more people to keep up with their debts, said Edward Crotty, chief investment officer at Davidson Investment Advisors.

Bank of America Corp. rose 30 cents to $16.70, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. climbed 89 cents to $42.81.

After announcing the launch date for the iPad, Apple rose $8.24, or 3.9 percent, to $218.95.

Meanwhile, bond prices fell on signs of the improving economy. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.69 percent from 3.61 percent late Thursday.

The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold rose.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 13.55, or 2.1 percent, to 666.02.

Overseas markets rose on the U.S. jobs report, and after a successful bond sale by debt-burdened Greece. Budget and debt problems in Greece have dogged the markets in recent months.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.3 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 1.4 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 2.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average surged 2.2 percent.

BEIJING – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged Friday to redouble the country's stimulus program to focus on job creation, signaling that Beijing's main worry is keeping its factories humming and its restive workers making money from strong exports to the world.

Although the Chinese action is helping to keep the world's economy afloat, its priority on domestic jobs could spur frustration among U.S. and other world leaders who want China to use its stimulus package to create more demand for products made outside China.

Wen made his announcement in the government's annual report to China's legislature, pledging that stimulus will continue because the basis of the global recovery remains weak. He set an 8 percent economic growth target for what he called a "crucial year" and warned of continuing economic turbulence from the global financial crisis.

"We still face a very complex situation," Wen said in a nationally televised two-hour speech to nearly 3,000 deputies gathered in the Great Hall of the People for the opening of the National People's Congress. "Many destabilizing factors and uncertainties remain in our external environment."

Wen said China needed to cool inflation, cope with banking risks and boost consumer spending to ease the world's third-largest economy's reliance on exports and investment to drive growth.

Much of his address, however, dealt with problems stirring unease among China's 1.3 billion people that could potentially threaten social stability — the communist leadership's overwhelming concern. Wen pledged to narrow a yawning wealth gap, increase the stock of affordable housing, boost the moribund rural economy and fight rampant corruption.

"Everything we do, we do to ensure that the people live a happier life with more dignity and to make our society fairer and more harmonious," Wen said.

Washington is worried about its trade deficit with China, which totaled $226.83 billion in 2009. That's the largest U.S. imbalance with any nation but down 15.4 percent from the record of $268.04 billion set in 2008.

The deficit with China is expected to resume rising in 2010 as the U.S. economy recovers and triggers more orders for Chinese manufacturers of shoes, toys and other low-cost items in high demand by American consumers.

Derek Scissors, a specialist on Asian economies at The Heritage Foundation think tank, said there's no reason for American manufacturers to think that more of their products will be getting into China because of Wen's speech. He said China is still committed to investment in its own companies so that strong sales to foreign countries continue.

Wen's focus on jobs, Scissors said, is "a sign that we're going to get quick Chinese growth of the same kind that we've seen before, which doesn't reduce the trade imbalance and doesn't provide any spark to the American economy."

Michael Green, former President George W. Bush's top Asia adviser, said this will create disappointment and frustration among world leaders that China is not doing enough to encourage local demand for other countries' products.

Few initiatives in Wen's speech were new. The cautious government prefers incremental policymaking to bold shifts. Wen and President Hu Jintao began boosting social spending earlier this decade, recognizing the threat that unrest poses to Communist Party rule. Now in the last three years of an expected 10-year term, they have less incentive and political support to strike out in new directions.

The annual session — the most public event the authoritarian government holds — is shrouded in heavy security to prevent disruptions. More than two dozen people who hoped to petition officials for redress of grievances or who raised suspicion were bundled into a police bus and driven away.

Away from the meetings, police have warned and detained political activists, even forcing the cancellation of a seminar hosted by an AIDS awareness group.

The measures reflect leaders' fears of rising dissent and independent voices that could challenge their grip on power.

Across China, protests — some violent — have grown common among farmers and blue collar workers angered by land seizures, unpaid wages and other acts of unfairness. In recent years, even members of the urban middle class have taken to the streets in opposition to some policies, while concern is rising over the future of millions of jobless college graduates.

The government has avoided more serious discontent by focusing on economic growth, and the country escaped the worst of the global downturn by way of a flood of $1.4 trillion in bank lending and government stimulus.

China is now the world's largest auto market, its Internet users outnumber the U.S. population and its economy is on track to replace Japan as the globe's second largest. Many Chinese take pride in the country's prosperity and global respect.

However, Wen said the increase in government spending would fall to 11.4 percent this year, half of what it was in 2009. A leaner budget has forced down the increase in defense spending to 7.5 percent, the lowest level in more than 20 years.

Wen promised hefty outlays for pensions, education, health care and subsidies for farmers to buy small cars and household appliances — all to spread prosperity more fairly.

He said the government would invest 43.3 billion yuan to stimulate employment, and extend for another year a program that exempts employers from making required social security contributions on behalf of their workers. He said the program aimed to create jobs for more than 9 million people entering the urban work force and keep unemployment below 4.6 percent. The official rate is currently 4.2 percent, although that only includes registered urban job losses and the actual figure is estimated at up to double that.

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Associated Press writer Foster Klug contributed to this report from Washington.

ATHENS, Greece – Greek lawmakers have approved an austerity package to save euro4.8 billion ($6.52 billion) in budget costs and help reduce the country's crushing debt load.

The legislation was approved Friday by voice vote, in which lawmakers respond verbally without casting a ballot, while protestors clashed with riot police in the streets outside parliament.

The measures include increases in consumer taxes, and cuts in public sector workers' pay of up to 8 percent.

The cutbacks are key in convincing bond markets to lend Greece money at less restrictive rates than it is now paying, and to win support from the European Union.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Masked youths attacked the leader of Greece's biggest union and stoned police in Athens Friday in an outbreak of violence over cutbacks proposed by Prime Minister George Papandreou, who was abroad seeking European leaders' support for his efforts to defuse the country's debt crisis.

Riot police in Athens used tear gas on rioters while others chased ceremonial guards in 19th-century kilts and tasseled garters away from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside parliament. It was the biggest outburst of violence since the rioting that gripped Greek cities in 2008.

Police say they arrested 6 people, while bystanders said at least two officers were badly beaten.

More than 7,000 demonstrators gathered to protest the euro4.8 billion ($6.5 billion) austerity package, which will hike consumer taxes and slash public sector workers' pay by up to 8 percent.

Inside parliament, lawmakers debated the draft austerity law, which is expected to pass despite almost blanket opposition reaction as the governing Socialists hold a strong majority.

Papandreou met in Luxembourg with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the group of eurozone finance ministers. Later Friday, he will hold talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Demonstrators attacked the two military guards and their escorting officers, smashing windows and kicking the guard posts. Masked youths then attacked the head of Greece's largest trade union who was addressing the crowd.

GSEE head Yiannis Panagopoulos traded blows with the rioters before being whisked away bloodied and with torn clothes.

GSEE and the ADEDY umbrella civil servant union held work stoppages to protest the austerity measures, while hospitals, schools and public transport were closed down.

Further violence broke out later Friday in Athens, with masked youths attacking riot police inside the Council of State, Greece's highest administrative court, and trying to break into the Labor Ministry. Rioters also smashed the glass fronts of two banks, two hotels, a mobile phone shop and a fast food restaurant.

An earlier protest ended peacefully, while there were smaller clashes during two protests in Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city.

The center-left government says it is seeking a total euro16 billion ($21.87 billion) in savings this year, to reduce a bloated budget deficit of some euro30 billion that is over four times the EU limit as a percentage of annual output.

The cuts are key in convincing bond markets to loan the country money and to win support from the European Union.

Merkel and Germany, as the biggest of the 16 countries that use the euro, would play a key role in any financial lifeline the EU plans to offer Greece. But the German government has said that Friday's meeting is not about giving aid and the EU's promise of support, first issued last month, remains vague.

Despite raising euro5 billion ($6.83 billion) from a successful 10-year bond issue Thursday, Athens remains under intense pressure from high borrowing rates. Papandreou has ruffled Europe's feathers by warning that Greece could request financial help from the International Monetary Fund unless the EU details potential emergency support.

Jean-Claude Juncker said after meeting Papandreou that "we have to deal with the problem as a euro area."

He said it was acceptable for the IMF to offer technical assistance. But he insisted: "as the chairman of the euro group I'd like to exclude any further involvement of the IMF."

Papandreou insists Greece is not seeking bailout money from the European Union but a public commitment to a financial rescue plan that would reassure markets.

Asked what he wants from Merkel, Papandreou said in an interview published Friday in Germany's daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that Greece needed "support ... that there is European support so that we can borrow money under reasonable conditions."

He said that Greece has never asked for a bailout, but lack of support would hurt his reform plans.

"And that would, one way or another, be expensive for all of Europe," Papandreou said. "If the euro retreated, that might help some countries with their exports, but it would for example make importing oil and gas more expensive."

Merkel said Friday she expects "interesting" and friendly talks with Papandreou, adding that Greece's successful bond issue "gives us optimism" that things will go well in the months ahead.

At a televised news conference in Munich, Merkel said the sale showed that the new austerity measures announced this had the desired effect.

Papandreou will also discuss the debt crisis with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris Sunday, and meet U.S. President Barack Obama on March 9 in Washington.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Friday that Sarkozy would back Greece if its debt woes got it into real trouble.

While she told LCI television that Sunday's meeting would focus on how the Greek government's new austerity plans will be enacted, she also said she expects Sarkozy will tell Papandreou that France would be there if Greece got into real difficulties. She did not explain what form that support would take.

Friday's strike saw state schools closed, while hospitals functioned with emergency staff and all Athens public transport was idle. An air traffic controllers work stoppage from 1000GMT to 1400GMT canceled dozens of flights, while journalists also walked off the job for a few hours.

Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said the belt-tightening would work — if unswervingly enforced.

"In emergencies, governments take emergency measures," he told lawmakers during the austerity law debate. "Will we succeed? Yes, we will. Will we have to take further measures? No, provided we implement the program we have submitted. And we will."

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Associated Press Writer Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, AP Business Writer Emma Vandore in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Robert Wielaard in Luxembourg contributed to this report.