It's all about jobs.

With the official unemployment rate up to 9.8 percent and the unofficial rate as high as 15 percent or so, policy makers are talking the talk at least about how jobs are the number one priority.

It is all about growth.

Finance execs are more upbeat about their hiring plans. And this is happening at the same time they are concerned about issues like health care reform, the budget deficit and housing.

Chief financial officers of middle-market companies are generally upbeat about the economy and their hiring plans.

Nearly half (47 percent) of the CFOs who participated in GE Capital's quarterly survey said they expect the US economy to be stable while another 37 percent said it is "improving" over the near term. This suggests little chance for a double-dip recession in the months ahead, GE Capital asserts.

I know I may be going out on a very shaky limb. But, I sense a turn in the jobs picture within the near future.

It will probably be too late for Democratic incumbents as well as challengers awaiting results of the November 2 elections. But, it will be good news for those who most matter-the unemployed.

Small business owners prefer spending money on their company than on people.

According to a new biannual survey which gauges the mood and sentiment of small and medium sized business owners, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) plan to increase capital spending during the next six months. This is up sharply from 49 percent in the spring, according to the PNC Economic Outlook survey.

Want to hire new people and save money at the same time? Just participate in the Treasury Department's employee subsidy program.

From February to August 2010, businesses have hired an estimated 8.1 million new workers who had been unemployed for 60 days or longer, making those businesses eligible to receive billions in the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act tax exemptions and credits for hiring long-term unemployed workers.

It's all about the jobs.

Add chief financial officers of retail firms to the long list of experts who believe the economy will continue to muddle along until the unemployment rate comes down.

Bloomberg reports Wednesday that the number of job openings in the US rose in July by 178,000 to 3.04 million.

This follows last week's report that companies added 67,000 jobs in August, above consensus forecasts, following a 107,000 increase in July.

Can the economy continue to grow without a meaningful improvement in the job market? The stock market seems to think so.

This morning we got bad news on the jobs front from a number of sources.

Wal-Mart Stores may be moving its apparel-buying operations back to the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, only a year and a half after consolidating them to New York, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous.

The decision to move to New York, announced in February 2009, was a painful one for employees. Some 700 to 800 workers at Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters were terminated as a result and the decision to move back may produce more casualties in New York this time.