US stocks rally on Friday after strong May jobs data

Dow jumped more than 800 points and the Nasdaq hit a record high after jobs report showed surprise jump in payrolls, fall in unemployment rate.

US stocks ended sharply higher on Friday after the U.S. May jobs report showed a surprise 2.5 million jump in payrolls and a drop in the unemployment rate to 13.3% as businesses began to reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 829.16 points, or 3.2%, to 27,110.98, while the S&P 500 rose 81.58 points, or 2.6%, to 3,193.93. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 198.27 points, or 2.1%, to 9,814.08, after hitting a record intraday high of 9,845.69.

Shares of airlines jumped, as the industry added more summer flights. American Airlines jumped 11.1% Friday, while United Airlines shares gained 8.5%. Cruise-line operators such as Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival both advanced more than 14% while Royal Caribbean gained 20.3%. Mall operator Simon Property gained 15.4%. Kohl's and Nordstrom advanced 11% and 6%, respectively.

In economic data, the Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 2.51 million jobs in May after plummeting by a revised 20.69 million jobs in April. Employment rose sharply in leisure and hospitality, construction, education and health services, and retail trade, according to the Labor Department.

The Labor Department claimed the improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain the spread of the disease.

With the unexpected rebound in employment, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate dropped to 13.3% in May from 14.7% in April.

The unexpected decrease in the unemployment rate came as the household survey found employment soared by more than 3.8 million persons compared to the 1.7 million person increase in the size of the labor force.

A note from the Labor Department also revealed the unemployment rate would have been about 3 percentage points higher if not for the misclassification of persons absent from work due to coronavirus-related business closures.

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