2012, Good News | featured news

In yet another sign of a strengthening recovery, the United States added 227,000 net jobs in February, the third consecutive month of gains over 200,000. The unemployment rate was unchanged from 8.3 percent in January, the Labor Department reported Friday, as nearly a half million people who had been staying on the sidelines rejoined the search for work. The strong job growth numbers could bolster President Obama’s effort to make the case to voters that his economic policies are working.

The pace of job creation by private employers accelerated more than expected in February, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

Signed contracts for home resales rose to a nearly two-year high in January, an industry group said on Monday, further evidence of a budding recovery in the housing market.

Consumer sentiment improved a tad in February to rack up a year high as Americans became more confident about the economy's resilience, a survey released on Friday showed.

Stocks rose sharply on the first trading day of 2012 as upbeat U.S. economic data overshadowed continuing concerns about the European debt crisis.