"We are seeing a lot of business investment. Businesses are investing in new equipment; they are investing in new technology," explains Walden, a specialist with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service and professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

"The deal here is that we see a very close correlation over time to this investment by businesses, in equipment and technology, and their workforce. That is to say, when business are buying new equipment, when they are expanding, when they are purchasing modern technology -- that usually means that in a couple months they will be adding employees," he says.

"So if you use this as a basis, we could see perhaps 2.5 million net new jobs created in the country in 2006, which would be more than in 2005."