The economy was a mixed bag in 2011, and, truth be told, we didn't see the kind of economic activity to make us believe a major upswing is on the way.

However, according to the Georgia Department of Labor, 1,366 more Newton County residents were working at the end of 2011 than were working at the start of the year.That's a great piece of news we didn't notice while 2011 was unfolding, but we hope its sign of better things to come.

Many of the local job additions were manufacturing jobs, which shows the community focus on recruiting industry is paying off.

We're confident that Newton County will continue to claw its way out of this economic quagmire.