NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Eldorado Gold Corp. (EGO) - Get Report are down by 5.28% to $4.84 in early afternoon trading on Friday, as gold and mining related stocks fall along with the price of the yellow metal.

Gold for April delivery is retreating by 2.53% to $1,166 per ounce on the COMEX this afternoon.

The precious metal is being driven lower today by better than expected jobs data from the Labor Department which showed employers added 295,000 jobs to payroll and the unemployment rate fell to 5.5% for February.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal were expecting payroll to rise by 240,000 last month.

"This is not good for gold. This adds fuel to the fire for the idea that the Fed will raise rates sooner rather than later," broker Bob Haberkorn of RJO Futures told the Journal.

When interest rates rise gold will struggle to compete with yield-bearing investments as it pays its holders nothing, the Journal noted.

Eldorado Gold stock was declining earlier in the week after the Greek government took steps to block the Canada-based miner's Skouries mine project.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates ELDORADO GOLD CORP as a Sell with a ratings score of D. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate ELDORADO GOLD CORP (EGO) a SELL. This is driven by some concerns, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. Among the areas we feel are negative, one of the most important has been a generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• EGO has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 19.16% from its price level of one year ago. Looking ahead, other than the push or pull of the broad market, we do not see anything in the company's numbers that may help reverse the decline experienced over the past 12 months. Despite the past decline, the stock is still selling for more than most others in its industry.
• The company's current return on equity greatly increased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of significant strength within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Metals & Mining industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, ELDORADO GOLD CORP underperformed against that of the industry average and is significantly less than that of the S&P 500.
• 47.36% is the gross profit margin for ELDORADO GOLD CORP which we consider to be strong. It has increased significantly from the same period last year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 5.37% trails the industry average.
• ELDORADO GOLD CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. During the past fiscal year, ELDORADO GOLD CORP turned its bottom line around by earning $0.14 versus -$0.91 in the prior year.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Metals & Mining industry. The net income increased by 102.0% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$687.55 million to $13.92 million.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: EGO Ratings Report