Brendan Mcdermid / Reuters Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. 
 
 Stock prices tumbled on Wall Street Friday after a report showed job growth in May was the weakest in a year and employers added fewer jobs in the prior two months than previously reported -- another blow to investors worried about global growth. 
 
 The Dow Jones industrial average was lately down over 200 points. Other stocks indexes also fell sharply. 
 
 The Labor Department’s latest jobs report showed U.S. employers created only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, as the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in April -- the first increase in 11 months. 
 
 The government also said the economy created far fewer jobs in the previous two months than first thought, revising numbers down to show 49,000 fewer jobs created. 
 
 The market had discounted a mildly negative employment report, said Barton Biggs, a hedge fund manager at Traxis Partners. 
 
 “But it hadn’t discounted the kind of numbers we saw this morning,” he told CNBC Friday. 
 
 The dismal jobs data are likely to stoke fears that the U.S. economy is struggling. It could also weigh on President Barack Obama's re-election hopes and lead the U.S. Federal Reserve to take more steps to prop up the economy. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called the jobs report “devastating news” and a sign that President Obama's economic policies have failed. 
 
 "Today's weak jobs report is devastating news for American workers and American families," he said in a statement. 
 
 He called the May report "a harsh indictment of the President's handling of the economy." 
 
 "It is now clear to everyone that President Obama's policies have failed to achieve their goals and that the Obama economy is crushing America's middle class. The president's re-election slogan may be 'forward,' but it seems like we've been moving backward," he said. 
 
 The troubles in the euro zone were also a focus for Wall Street, as investors digested the latest economic data from the region. 
 
 Unemployment the euro zone was 11 percent in April. The figure was unchanged from March, but still at the highest level since records started in 1995. Spain’s had the highest rate in the region at 24.3 percent. 
 
 Treasury yields hit their lowest level in hundreds of years and global stock indexes dropped toward 2012 lows as investors scrambled for lifelines amid worries about Spain's parlous finances and China's growth outlook. 
 
 Chinese demand seen slowing, record after record has tumbled across asset classes as investors seek security for their cash. 
 
 The German two-year bond yield fell below zero for the first time, meaning investors are paying for the right to hold that debt. Other "safe havens" Denmark and Switzerland said they were prepared to set negative interest rates to prevent their currencies spiraling. 
 
 Oil fell below the psychologically key level of $100 a barrel, striking an eight-month low. 
 
 "We've had constant worries about Greece, Spain, the euro, poor data from the U.S., and overnight the Chinese data was not positive," said Tony Machacek, an oil futures broker at Jefferies Bache. 
 
 The euro hit its lowest against the dollar in nearly two years at $1.2316 while 10- and 30-year German Bund yields hit all-time lows. The dollar index rose to a 21-month high. 
 
 Madrid's need to recapitalize its troubled banks and shore up its heavily indebted regions is the latest focus for turbulent markets, though IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde denied late on Thursday that the Fund was preparing financial assistance for Spain. 
 
 Spaniards alarmed by the dire state of their banks are squirreling money abroad at the fastest rate since records began, figures showed on Thursday. 
 
 The gloomy economic news was not confined to Europe. 
 
 Weighing on the global demand outlook, China's official purchasing managers' index fell to 50.4 in May from April's 13-month high of 53.3. 
 
 Earlier, European stocks fell to their lowest levels this year. 
 
 Reuters contributed to this report. ||||| WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama on Friday took a more strident tone with Europe in contrast to two years of quiet prodding, urging the region’s leaders to aid the troubled banking sector and warning of the fallout if Greece were to leave the euro zone. 
 
 And on the domestic front, the president ignited a fire-storm of reaction when he said in a brief news conference that “the private sector is doing fine,” noting that the American labor market had created 800,000 jobs in the last year. 
 
 Obama later backed away from his remarks on the economy, saying that it was “absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine.” See our analysis. 
 
 With regards to Europe, Obama said he has tried hard over the past two years not to scold Europeans and be constructive. But in his comments to reporters in the White House briefing room, Obama basically gave Europe a “to-do” list. 
 
 Click to Play Obama on the economy Paul Vigna talks with Kathleen Madigan about the president’s comments on the U.S. and global economy. 
 
 “The good news is there is a path out of this challenge,” Obama said. 
 
 In the short-term, Europe must stabilize its financial system and inject capital into weak banks as soon as possible, Obama said. Spain is expected on Saturday to request aid for its banks.Read more on Spain. 
 
 European leaders must also show a political commitment to a stronger euro zone and fiscal integration, he said. 
 
 “It is in everybody’s interest for Greece to remain in the euro zone” and respect its prior commitments, Obama said. 
 
 “The Greek people also need to recognize that their hardships will likely be worse if they leave the euro zone,” he said. Greece holds national elections on June 17. 
 
 Obama also repeated his support for a new growth agenda for Europe to go along with the existing tough austerity plans. 
 
 Urges Congress to do more 
 
 At the same time, Obama urged Congress to reconsider his jobs plan, saying that it would help state and local governments and the construction industry, which he called the weakest sectors of the economy. 
 
 Obama said that the labor market had created 800,000 jobs in the last year and “the private sector is doing fine.” 
 
 “If Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is, ‘How do we help state and local governments?’ and, ‘How do we help the construction industry?’” he said. 
 
 So far, Republican plans would slow growth and create fewer jobs, he said.
– President Obama might be getting good reviews for his plan to shore up the US economy, but investors are far more worried about Europe, reports MarketWatch. The Dow was down more than 300 points at midday to below 11,000, and both Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were each down more than 2.6%. A Bloomberg report that Germany is preparing a contingency plan to protect its banks from a Greece default is contributing to the malaise.