Wall Street fell at the open on Friday after data showed an unexpected decline in non-farm payrolls in December.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 26.98 points, or 0.25 percent, to 10,579.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 2.86 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,138.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 6.16 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,293.89.

U.S. employers cut 85,000 jobs last month, compared with a revised gain of 4,000 jobs in November, with the unemployment steady at 10 percent. Economists forecast non-farm payrolls would be unchanged last month.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)