Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Next Week's Game Plan (Final)

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Next week's game plan is all about jobs, Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Friday.

He said the markets will be honed in on Friday's unemployment data from the Labor Department, and everything from homes to retail, oil to industrials, will revolve around that number.

Cramer said the markets will need to see new jobless claims fall below 346,000 before it starts feeling good about itself again. He said the closer we get to that number, and the farther away we get from the dreaded 10% unemployment rate number, the better.

Until then, Cramer recommended investing in defensive names like Procter & Gamble (PG Quote) and Pepsico (PEP Quote), two stocks which Cramer owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS, along with General Mills (GIS Quote).

On Tuesday, Cramer said the markets will get another read on the health of the consumer when Nike (NKE Quote) and Darden Restaurants (DRI Quote) report their earnings. He said the key metric to watch at Nike is its future orders, while at Darden it'll be same-store sales, which are estimated to be down 2.9% overall. Bad numbers from these two companies would reinforce a defensive stance, he said.

Also on Tuesday is Jabil Circuits (JBL Quote), said Cramer. If this company disappoints, it may take down rival and Cramer favorite Flextronics (FLEX Quote). Use any weakness in Flextronics to be a buyer, said Cramer.

Finally, Cramer said there are rumors that Abbott Labs (ABT Quote) might be making a big acquisition in Europe. News there would be good news for Abbott and good news for the markets overall.