* Global stocks fall; US jobs data shows recession's depth * Dollar falls vs euro as job losses not as bad as feared * Gold rises on safety bid, U.S. bonds fall on issuance * Oil buoyed by weaker dollar, expectations of OPEC cut (Recasts with U.S. markets, changes dateline; previous LONDON) NEW YORK, March 6 - Global stocks fell and safe-haven assets like gold rose on Friday after data showed the U.S. unemployment rate hit a 25-year high last month, underscoring the severity of a worsening downturn. The dollar fell against the euro after the U.S. Labor Department report showed U.S. job losses from December through February were at their highest since October 1949. For details, see ID:nN06382576 ID:nN06397658 Oil rose above $44 a barrel, gaining support from a weaker dollar and expectations the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries might cut output further at a meeting later this month. ID:nSP482596 Euro zone government bonds surged, extending the previous session's strong rally, as stocks tumbled. But the prospect of a substantial $63 billion of issuance in notes and bonds next week led U.S. Treasuries to reverse early gains, analysts said. ID:nL6949098 Gold futures rose above $940 an ounce as investors sought safety in the yellow metal to preserve wealth. ID:nL1449620 "Gold is considered in the first instance at the moment an insurance premium and a safe haven," said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg in Frankfurt. "It is the equity markets and risk aversion that are moving the market." World stocks struck a six-year low .MIWO00000PUS while the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 index plumbed 12-year lows as it headed for its worst weekly decline since October. An index of leading European companies set a lifetime low for the 12-year-old gauge. The Nikkei .N225> lost 3.5 percent, less than 200 points above a 26-year low hit last October. Banking stocks again led markets lower, with the S&P financial index .GSPF> down 4.5 percent, while in Europe Banks and insurers were the worst losers. After 1 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI> was off 78.61 points, or 1.19 percent, at 6,515.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX> lost 10.74 points, or 1.57 percent, at 671.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC> fell 23.56 points, or 1.81 percent, at 1,276.03. The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3> index of top European shares closed down 1.3 percent at 662.13 points, Societe Generale fell 6.6 percent and BNP Paribas lost 5.4 percent. "The news flow coming out of the U.S. is universally negative at the moment, and consensus GDP estimates will continue to be revised down," said Darren Winder, an equity strategist at Cazenove. "Unless we have stability in profit estimates, it's difficult to see a sustainable rally." The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR fell 4/32 in price to yield 2.83 percent. The 2-year U.S. Treasury note US2YT=RR slipped 2/32 in price to yield 0.91 percent. The dollar failed to get a boost from the U.S. payrolls number because markets were expecting even worse data, and that emboldened some investors to buy the euro and sell the dollar, analysts said. "It's a bearish number, but the rumor mill was whispering of job losses up to 1 million and it didn't come close to our worst fears," said Sebastien Galy, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in New York. The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index .DXY> off 0.80 percent at 88.367. Against the yen, the dollar JPY=> fell 0.20 percent to 97.72. The euro EUR=> rose 0.92 percent to $1.2676. U.S. light sweet crude oil CLc1> rose 64 cents to $44.25 a barrel. Spot gold prices XAU=> rose $7.85 to $939.70 an ounce.

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