This past week's data point of significance for investors has to be March's job report, which indicated the U.S. economy created a better-than-expected 216,000 jobs, the U.S. Labor Department said.

Also, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 8.8% from 8.9%. A Bloomberg survey had expected the economy to create 200,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 8.9%. Further, job creation totals for February and January were revised higher: February to 194,000 from the initially estimated 192,000 gain; January to 68,000 from 63,000.

This past week's data point of significance for investors has to be the February nonfarm payroll report by the U.S. Department of Labor, which indicated that the U.S. economy created 192,000 jobs last month -- roughly in-line with the consensus estimate.

The good news was complemented by the fact that January's job gain was revised up to 63,000 from 36,000 and December's to 152,000 from 121,000. January's low job tally was probably skewed lower by the winter blizzards and storms that hit the Northeast and Midwest; hence, it's safe to say that the economy is creating jobs. What it needs now is sustained demand to drive GDP growth, which will lead to stronger job growth.

Australia's economy added 54,600 jobs in October. What, you ask, does that have to do with U.S. investing?

Well, adjusting for Australia's population, November's job growth down under is the equivalent of a 728,000 monthly job gain in the United States -- in other words, a Roaring 90s-level monthly job growth performance.

Here is some good news. The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in October. Plus, there were revisions for the previous two months, with private employers adding 107,000 jobs in September and 141,000 in August. This data were reported in the Wall Street Journal.

The unemployment rate remains stubbornly high at 9.6%. A broader measure of unemployment which includes people who stopped looking for work and those settling for part time jobs was at 17% for October.

Favorable economic data pushed stocks near a 100-point gain Tuesday morning. One of the positive reports came from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which noted that its service-sector index increased to 53.2 during September. This reading easily outpaced August's reading of 51.5 and handily trumped the Street's estimate for a reading of 52.0.

This reading is good because any readings above 50 signal growth in the service sector. This sector is considered the area where the most jobs are created; ergo, growth in this sector suggests that there will be more hiring on the horizon. On a yearly basis, the index shows that service companies have expanded every month this year.

The obvious question many investors will ask, amid a Dow that surged ahead 200 points or so on Thursday, is "Does this mark a turning point for the market?" or 'Is now a good time to start committing more money to stocks?'

Let's ignore technical indicators for the moment, as more than one bullish fundamental indicator during this long recession -- an economic statistic or otherwise -- has signaled a "false rise" or a "sucker's rally."

With institutional bulls and bears engaged in a battle over Dow 11,000 and with market's bull run showing signs of getting a little long in the tooth, investors are legitimately asking whether now is good time to exit certain stocks that have registered impressive gains, in anticipation of a correction.

The major unknown, of course, is whether a correction is up ahead. What's one act that will add ammunition to the bears' argument? The U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

The new year 2010 wastes no time in offering investors a "data point of consequence" -- the U.S. Labor Department's December 2009 monthly nonfarm payroll report, commonly known as the jobs report, scheduled to be released Friday January 8 at 8:30 a.m. EST.

It's a data point of note because job growth is the key to a sustained U.S. economic recovery and earnings growth: although the economy certainly can grow for a while without net monthly job gains (as it did in 2002), it's hard to envision a scenario in which the expansion continues for two, three, four or more years without job growth. And, by extension, job growth is intrinsic to both household formation, rising corporate revenue and stock prices. A Bloomberg News economists survey expects the U.S. economy to record zero job growth in December 2009, after losing a scant 11,000 jobs in November 2009.

California update: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) is expected to ask President Obama to ease federal mandates and minimums on social programs to save the state up to $8 billion.

The action is needed because California, which has already cut programs to eliminate previous budget deficits, faces up to a $21 billion budget deficit for this fiscal year, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.