WASHINGTON - Stronger-than-expected July jobs numbers reported by the government Friday eased concerns about an economy slipping back into recession. But economists warned that the road ahead is likely to remain bumpy.

Nonfarm payrolls grew by 163,000 jobs in July, according to the Labor Department, which also said the unemployment rate inched up by less than one-tenth of 1 percentage point to 8.3 percent.

The strong report sent stocks soaring for most of Friday's trading, with the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 220 points in the first hour, closing up 217.29 for the day at 13,096.17. The rally helped the Dow gain about 20 points this week, after it closed last week at 13,075.66.

Mainstream economists had expected about 100,000 new jobs, so Friday's report was far above expectations and more than double the revised 64,000 jobs that were added in June. Most heartening, economists said, was that the gains were spread across all sectors but construction and government hiring.