STOCKS GAIN AFTER US UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS

Stocks rose on Friday, pushing the market to its highest level in nearly five years, after a government report showed that more Americans are going back to work.

The unemployment rate declined to 7.8 percent, the first time it has gone below 8 percent in nearly four years. The decline from 8.1 percent the month before was bigger than economists had expected.

In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 60 points at 13,636. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose five points to 1,467. The Nasdaq composite was up three points to 3,152.