A drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years propelled stocks higher Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 140 points, drawing the average to its highest mark since before the financial crisis hit in 2008.
The Nasdaq index reached levels last seen in December 2000.
Before the market opened, the Labor Department said companies hired 243,000 employees in January. That's the strongest job growth in nine months. The increase in hiring pushed the unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent.
The surprising data gave stocks a morning jolt. The Dow shot up 161 points in early trading before drifting slightly lower.
"In this economy only one variable matters right now and that variable is employment," said Lawrence Creatura, an equity portfolio manager at Federated Investors.
"This report was great news. It was beyond all expectations, literally. The number (243,000 hired in January) was higher than even the highest forecast."
The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 17 points to 1,342, as of 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. That's a gain of 1.3 percent. The S&P 500 is on track to rise for the fifth straight week, the longest weekly winning streak since January of 2011. It's up 6.8 percent so far this year.