Is Australian employment data...

...cause for optimism in the U. S.? According to Bloomberg:

...Australian employers added the most workers in more than three years in January, the fifth straight monthly increase, according to the statistics bureau in Sydney.

“People are more optimistic for the time being and a bit happier the way the world is panning out,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage $1.1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne. The employment data “exceeded expectations.”

The Australian dollar gained 1.5 percent to 88.84 U.S. cents and the yield on Australia’s benchmark 10-year note increased six basis points to 5.51 percent after the statistics bureau said the country added 52,700 workers in January, three times as many jobs as economists forecast.

There was “a big boost for the Aussie” from the labor force number, said Amber Rabinov, an economist in Melbourne at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “The numbers put more emphasis behind the feeling that the unemployment rate has peaked and we’re now seeing it steadily head lower.”