New York  - Wall Street stocks fell Friday after a disappointing monthly US employment report.

The government report showed a net loss of 263,000 jobs in September, a greater decline in employment than expected by Wall Street economists.

US unemployment is now at 9.8 per cent, up from 9.7 per cent unemployment in August and the highest rate since 1983.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 21.61 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 9,487.67. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 4.64 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 1,025.21. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 9.37 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 2,048.11.

For the week, the benchmark S&P 500 dropped 1.8 per cent, after gaining nearly 15 per cent from July to September.

The US currency slipped Friday to 68.606 euro cents from 68.79 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar rose against the Japanese currency to 89.805 yen from 89.56 yen. (dpa)