NEW YORK, New York - Wall Street was in disarray Friday despite positive news on the employment front which sent the U.S. dollar sharply higher.

Jobs growth in the United States has surged in the past month, according to a Labor Department report released on Friday.

Unemployment has dipped to 3.5 percent, down from 3.6 percent the previous month. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 528,000 jobs in July, the biggest gain since February. Data for June was revised higher to show 398,000 jobs created instead of the previously reported 372,000.

"If the U.S. economy is in a recession, no one seems to have told employers," Sarah House, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina told Reuters Friday.

"We suspect this data will give the Fed the confidence it needs to push ahead aggressively with its fight against inflation."

Despite the positive jobs data, stocks were mixed. The Dow Jones gained 76.65 points or 0.23 percent to 32,803.47.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 63.03 points or 0.50 percent to 12,657.55.

The Standard and Poor's 500 slipped 6.75 points or 0.16 percent to 4,145.19.

The euro sank to 1.0162 towards the New York close Friday, on the back of the jobs data. The British pound slumped to 1.2028. The Japanese yen tumbled to 134.70. The Swiss franc declined to 0.9624.

The Canadian dollar was sharply lower at 1.2954. The Australian dollar dropped to 0.6888. The New Zealand dollar was unwanted at 0.6231.

On overseas equity markets, the German Dax shed 0.65 percent. The Paris-based CAC 40 was down 0.63 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.11 percent.

The Australian All Ordinaries increased 42.80 points or 0.59 percent to 7,250.30.

South Korea's Kospi Composite rose 17.69 points or 0.72 percent to 2,490.80.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 243.67 points or 0.87 percent to 28,175.87.

China's Shanghai Composite strengthened 37.99 points or 1.19 percent to 3,227.03.

Going against the trend, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 dipped 7.00 points or 0.06 percent to 11,728,47.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng firmed 27.90 points or 0.14 percent to 20,201.94.