Europe shares close at 2-week high; banks gain

* FTSEurofirst 300 index closes up 1.1 pct

* Bank stocks rebound from earlier falls

* Energy shares gain as crude rises

By Joanne Frearson

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - European shares hit a two-week closing high on Friday after data showed U.S. employers cut a far fewer-than-expected 11,000 jobs in November, with banks rebounding from earlier falls and featuring among top gainers.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares closed up 1.1 percent at 1,025.77 points.

The index has gained 2.9 percent this week after two weeks of losses. It is up 23 percent in 2009 and has surged 59 percent since hitting a record low in early March.

"It is fantastic. It is positive for the wider economy and everyone is coming in to buy equities," said Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index, referring to the jobs data.

"It was about 10 times less than what the market was expecting. It gives a strong signal that the U.S. jobs market is now in recovery mode."

The U.S. government data strongly suggested the deterioration in the labour market was in its final stages. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 10 percent from a 26-1/2 year high of 10.2 percent in October. [ID:nN03103070]

Banks were among the top gainers, with Banco Santander (SAN.MC), UBS (UBSN.VX) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) and up 1.1 to 2.2 percent.

Energy stocks were big sector movers, with BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Total (TOTF.PA) gaining 0.4 to 2 percent.

RECRUITERS IN DEMAND

Recruiters were in demand. Dutch staffing company Randstad (RAND.AS) soared 7.7 percent after it said its revenue trend continued to improve and U.S. staffing operations returned to growth. [ID:nGEE5B30LC]

"This gives more ammunition to take a bet the recovery will materialise. If that happens, Randstad will be one of the first to benefit," Keijser Capital trader Geoffry Leloux said.

Adecco (ADEN.VX) and Michael Page (MPI.L) were up 7.7 percent and 3.4 percent respectively.

Defensive stocks were higher, with drugmakers featuring among the top gainers. AstraZeneca (AZN.L) was up 2.6 percent after its schizophrenia drug Seroquel XR won U.S. approval as an add-on treatment for depression. [ID:nGEE5B308S]

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Roche (ROG.VX) and Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) were 1 to 2.2 percent higher.

Miners fell from earlier gains after gold slipped below $1,190 an ounce. Anglo American (AAL.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L), BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Xstrata (XTA.L) were down 1.6 to 3.4 percent.

Back to economic news, inventories at U.S. factories increased for the first time in more than a year in October, while factory orders also rose an unexpected 0.6 percent, the Commerce Department said on Friday, in signs the manufacturing sector is returning to health. [ID:nN03474778]

Across Europe, the FTSE 100 .FTSE index was up 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI was 0.8 percent higher and France's CAC 40 .FCHI gained 1.3 percent. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Hans Peters) ((joanne.frearson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2773, Reuters Messaging:joanne.frearson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))