March 8 (Reuters) - Futures for the S&P 500 turned

positive on Friday after an uptick in the unemployment rate and

slowing wage growth boosted expectations that the Federal

Reserve could begin cutting interest rates by the middle of this

year.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% against expectations it

would remain steady at 3.7% while average hourly earnings rose

0.1% on a monthly basis compared to expectations of 0.3% growth.

The Labor Department's report also showed non-farm payrolls

rose by 275,000 jobs last month, against expectations of an

increase of 200,000.

At 8:32 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 23 points,

or 0.06%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.5 points, or 0.18%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 25.5 points, or 0.14%.