Snow is melting and gas prices are rising. Spring must be on the way.

Gasoline prices have been rising around the country. Tuesday the Energy Department reported an average nationwide price of $2.76 per gallon, about what Kenosha area motorists are paying. The outlook for the near future is for higher prices still, but the government’s analysts don’t expect the price to go much higher than $3 during the peak summer driving season.

Experts also said they expected the gasoline price increases to be gradual.

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The recession is expected to keep a lid on gasoline prices. Unemployment is still high, business travel is down and shipping is down, so demand for gasoline. The government expects the average price for gasoline will be $2.84 cents this year. That’s 50 cents a gallon higher than the average price of $2.34 in 2009.

Maybe that’s a sign that the economy is improving along with the temperatures.

Tuesday the Labor Department reported that job openings rose 7.6 percent in January compared with December. That’s a sign that the economy might register some consistent job gains. Several job search Web sites also reported increased job postings.

If that trend continues, it’s about time. This week marks the one-year anniversary of the comeback in the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 4,000 points from its low of 6,547 on March 9, 2009. The stock market is supposed to be a leading economic indicator, but so far it seems as though few of the other indicators are following the stock market’s lead.

Tuesday’s report from the Labor Department had some analysts thinking more jobs are being created but not too fast. The report from the Energy Department has analysts thinking that gas prices will be rising but not too fast.

We’d also like to see the snow melt. But not too fast.