NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fluctuated in a tight range Friday as investors found some positives for the market in a surprisingly weak jobs report.

The Labor Department said employers cut more jobs than expected in October, pushing the unemployment rate above 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

The rise in joblessness, while not welcome news for the economy, reassured some investors that the Federal Reserve will have to hold interest rates lower for some time. That weakened demand for the dollar, which gave a boost to stocks.

"All the markets right now are taking their cue off the dollar," said Max Bublitz, chief strategist at SCM Advisors. "We got data today that suggests that interest rates are going to be on hold for a while."

When the dollar is weaker, U.S. goods are cheaper for buyers overseas. Companies that do business overseas also get a profit boost when their earnings are translated back into dollars.

Safe-haven assets like Treasurys were mixed. Oil prices plunged and gold topped $1,100 an ounce for the first time. Gold benefits when investors are worried about a weak dollar and inflation.

The jobs report bodes poorly for consumer spending, a major component of economic activity. Many consumers cut back spending if they are worried about losing their jobs. Economists say stronger consumer spending will be necessary to sustain a recovery.

The Labor Department said employers cut 190,000 jobs last month, fewer than the 219,000 jobs lost in September, but more than the 175,000 job losses economists had forecast. The unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent from 9.8 percent in September.

The market has been expecting unemployment to top 10 percent before peaking. But the pace of job losses has accelerated and the rate is likely to go higher.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 10.73, or 0.1 percent, to 9,995.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.64, or 0.2 percent, to 1,064.99, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.89, or 0.1 percent, to 2,102.43.

Two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 336 million shares compared with 358.8 million shares traded at the same point Thursday.

Bond prices were mixed. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose, pushing its yield down to 3.51 percent from 3.53 percent late Thursday.

Oil fell $2.03 to $77.59 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Jeffrey Friedman, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a futures brokerage, said the market has risen too high so some break is in order.

"Over all, the market is a little overbought," he said. "We're still losing jobs. 10.2 is not a good number. And in reality, it's probably even higher."