Recovery no longer jobless

(This article appears on Seeking Alpha and genrated some heated discussions: http://seekingalpha.com/article/196885-recovery-no-longer-jobless )

Investing in recovery means allowing the possibility for the economy to overcome obvious hurdles. And these hurdles can be huge.

In 2009, bullish investors went after improving credit condition and corporate profits. The biggest worry at the year end was the uncertainty around revenue. Many questioned if the profits were all due to cost-cutting. Soon that worry was relieved as companies reported increasing sales. Nobody talks about that anymore.

Joblessness became the biggest worry, which is deeply tied to consumer's spedning power. Now it appears that worry is going to melt away.

The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 162,000 jobs in March, the most since the recession began but below analysts' expectations of 190,000. The total includes 48,000 temporary workers hired for the U.S. Census, also fewer than many economists forecast.

Most important, private employers added 123,000 jobs, the most since May 2007.

Manufacturers added 17,000 jobs, the third straight month of gains. Temporary help services added 40,000, while health care added 37,000. Leisure and hospitality added 22,000.

Even construction industry added 15,000 positions. This is not surprising given that many national builders have been ramping up community counts and getting ready for the Spring selling season. For example, Standard Pacific (SPF) has made a series of acquisitions of communities in North Carolina recently, targeting entry-level buyers. Construction and selling are expected to start this Spring. Lennar (LEN) has also announced similar activities in North Carolina and Florida.

The employment picture has turned a corner. The gain is not big, but certainly significantly positive.

Manufacturing continues to underpin the global recovery, from China, to Japan to U.S. and even Europe, according to a Bloomberg report:

Manufacturing in China grew for a 13th month and U.S. factories expanded the most since July 2004, reports showed. Business sentiment in Japan rose to the highest since 2008, while factories in Britain and the euro region stepped up production.

The momentum in the coming quarters should accerlerate and spread into more and more industries. A clear sign that the manufacturing expansion is not just an inventory-restocking story can be found in increasing sales from Williams-Sonoma (WSM) to car dealers.

We continue to invest in global recovery.