Who told you in February about economic recovery? Housing starts leap in May

Who told you in February the bad economy had bottomed? A great indication of recovery is housing starts, which rose substantially in May.

From the news: Housing starts jumped 17.2 percent in May compared with April's adjusted figures, topping the expectations of economists surveyed by Dow Jones News wires who expected housing starts to rise by 7 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Housing starts in the West increased 28.6 percent from April. The month-to-month jump in the West was the largest of any area of the country.