U.S. stocks trimmed gains on Friday as investors wrestled with mixed news on the labor market, derailing an earlier bounce.

Government data showed that while employers cut fewer jobs than expected in May, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent, the highest since July 1983.

With the market up 40 percent from 12-year lows in March, investors were looking for more concrete signs the economy was stabilizing.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 26.07 points, or 0.30 percent, to 8,776.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 0.68 points, or 0.07 percent, to 943.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slipped 0.34 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,849.68.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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