More good news is coming for the economy in 2012, and this time instead of coming from the lowered number of unemployment benefit filings out there, which can be altered by things such as seasonal hiring or the number of people who have opted out of the work force completely, this is coming from the spending of businesses.  According to the data, which has been released by the government, business in the US are getting more confident about the state of the economy. This conclusion is coming from a two places: a greater number of companies that are choosing to invest in equipment for their business and a lower number of layoffs than there have been in the last couple of years.

One analyst, Diane Swonk, the chief economist at Mesirow Financial, told a reporter for the LA Times the following about the new numbers, “Business optimism seems to be picking up, which is critical to the growth and competitiveness of the U.S. economy over the long haul.”

That is good news for workers who want to hold onto their jobs, though it is for the time being, a sign of leveling off and not one of immediate growth, so the labor market may not improve noticeably for the average job seeker for quite sometime.  In the long run however, it looks like things are going to get better in the labor market and every person who is not laid off is a person who is not competing for the slim number of openings currently out there.

The optimism on the part of the manufacturers has to do with an increase in their orders. The number of orders for manufactured goods that are expected to have a shelf life of at least three years has grown by about three percent. While that may not sound like a high increase, the dollar amount of increase is significant to the companies in question.

Of course, not all of the news is good news. According to the same report the number of sales of new homes was lower than ever in 2011. That number, which is traditionally a sign of a stronger economy, still needs to be dealt with, but when more workers have steady employment this number should rise on its own.

For those of you who do not follow Layoff Watch regularly here is an excerpt from some good news in another industry that usually significantly impacted by the state of the economy:

“According to a recent survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors there are going to be more jobs in the construction trades this year. The survey showed that construction firms in many states are getting ready to hire. More importantly, for the first time in a long time, they are ready to hire more people then they fire this year. Given the nature of construction projects, where workers are let go at the end of the project, and only rehired if and when their skills are needed again, this is encouraging news for a great number of workers.

This good news is compounded by the fact that the research found that fewer construction firms are expecting to layoff fewer workers this year, thanks to an expected increase in the number of construction projects that are supposed to happen in the 2012 fiscal year. So we can expect fewer job losses and a nice amount of growth in the construction trades.”