The fresh snapshot of the jobs climate, released by the Labor Department on Friday, suggested that the economy started the new year on fairly good footing.

No it didn't.

Although the 193,000 gain in payroll jobs in January fell short of the 250,000 new jobs that economists said to anticipate before the release of the report,

it still marked a sturdy showing and was the biggest increase in jobs since November.

Looking for a silver lining... oh, right, December really stunk, so we can claim it is the best since November! Hurrah!

(Tip: You make a dollar, then a dime, followed by a nickel and then a dime. Shouting about the dime being much better than a nickel doesn't make it worth anything like the dollar).

"There's no question we're getting back to better days for job creation," said Ken Mayland, economist at ClearView Economics. "There's been a sense of unease in the American workplace and this should help relieve that. The economy is getting on off to excellent start in 2006."

Ah yes, ClearView economics. They're pretty influential. Or at least, they're willing to give positive copy about what most economists would not cheer.

Moreover, job growth in December turned out to be stronger than previously thought. Revised figures showed payrolls expanded by 140,000 — an improvement over the 108,000 new jobs first estimated a month ago. Employment was revised up for some previous months as well.