The Dow Jones industrial average fell 225 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,157 in the first few minutes of trading Friday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index gave up 23 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,927. The Nasdaq composite slipped 52 points, or 1 percent, to 4,682.
The government reported that the unemployment rate fell to a seven-year low in August as employers added a modest 173,000 jobs.
