For all of 2011, U.S. employers added 1.64 million workers, the most since 2006, after an increase of 940,000 in 2010. Even with the gains, little headway has been made in recovering the 8.75 million jobs lost during the recession that ended in June 2009.
'Doing Better'
"Some of the risk-on trade is back because the economy here is doing better," said Michael Strauss, who helps oversee about $27 billion of assets as chief investment strategist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut. "China seems to be managing their process better, and Europe has shown some signs of at last recognizing and at least trying to address their problems."
A measure of 11 U.S. farm goods showed speculators raised bullish bets in agricultural commodities by 35 percent for a second consecutive week, reaching 368,783, the highest since the week ended Nov. 15.
"'There was definitely a cleaning house of sorts in many commodities towards the end of the year, and that resulted in shorter-term oversold conditions in some commodities," said Michael Cuggino, who helps manage about $15 billion of assets at Permanent Portfolio Funds in San Francisco. "It's not surprising to me that buying has perked up a little bit early in the new year. The global growth story is still there."