The 13-nation euro bought $1.4127 in early afternoon European trading, up slightly from the $1.4117 it bought late Thursday in New York -- and still more than 1 U.S. cent off its all-time high of $1.4284 set Monday.

Harm Bandholz, an economist with HVB/UniCredit, said the report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to "reveal whether the unexpected employment decline in August was a fluke or marked the beginning of a severe labor market downturn."

The August report helped put the dollar in a skid, along with a move by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank last month, which cut its benchmark interest rate by more than expected to 4.75 percent in reaction to the U.S. subprime credit debacle.

But with sentiment leaning toward the September results being better than expected, "the dollar has found a degree of support" in trading, said James Hughes, a market analyst with CMC Markets in London.

He also said decisions on Thursday by the European Central Bank and Bank of England, and comments by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, to keep interest rates steady at 4 percent and 5.75 percent, respectively, helped keep the euro in check.

A higher euro makes goods from the euro zone more expensive for customers elsewhere, and cuts into manufacturers' profits if they try to keep the U.S. dollar price of products constant. While it makes U.S. exports cheaper, it cuts the spending power of Americans visiting or working in Europe.

"Yesterday's rate verdicts from both London and Frankfurt have also given traders cause to take stock -- a quarter point cut at the Bank of England is looking increasingly likely -- whilst Trichet's tone is again being seen as rather more bearish than had been anticipated," Hughes said.

The British pound rose to $2.0404 from $2.0375 on Thursday after the Bank of England said it was looking for more time to assess the impact of the credit squeeze on consumer and economic confidence.

The dollar weakened to purchase 116.42 Japanese yen from 116.51 in New York.