Futures jump after February jobs data

NEW YORK, Mar 9 (Reuters) U.S. stock index futures rose briskly on Friday, signaling a higher market open, after a government report showed job growth in February was nearly in line with Wall Street's expectations and the unemployment rate fell, easing worries about the economy.

The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added a slightly weaker-than-expected 97,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.5 percent from 4.6 percent.

The median forecast among economists polled by Reuters was for a gain of 100,000 non-farm payroll jobs and for the unemployment rate to hold steady from January at 4.6 percent.

S&P 500 futures were up 7.60 points, sharply above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 59 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures were up 12.75 points.

Futures were flat to slightly lower ahead of the report.

REUTERS KR HS1927