Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rallied above 1,100 U.S. dollars on Friday after the jobless rate rose to a 26-year high, setting a new all-time high for the third time in recent four sessions. Silver and platinum both fell.

The most active gold contract for December delivery climbed 6.40 dollars, or 0.6 percent, to finish at 1,095.70 dollars an ounce. In the morning session, the precious metal soared above 1,100 dollars for the first time and hit a record high of 1,101.90.

The Labor Department reported that employers cut more jobs than expected in October, pushing the unemployment rate above 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

The report said 190,000 jobs were lost last month, fewer than the 219,000 jobs lost in September, but more than economists' expectations of 175,000. What's worse, the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent from 9.8 percent in September. The rising unemployment rate raised gold's appeal of hedge and safe-haven.

December silver was down 3.5 cents to 17.375 dollars per ounce. January platinum lost 14.70 dollars to 1348.20 dollars an ounce.