Cramer's 'Mad Money': Job Data No Surprise

Cramer said the research is clear, for every 1% increase in unemployment there's a 2% uptick in enrollment at colleges and universities as people go back to school in larger numbers to learn new skills and make themselves more marketable to employers.

Cramer said American Public Education is unique in the fact that 60% of its students are in the military and that it's a well-funded organization committed to bettering its personnel. And since American Public's classes are online, they're often perfect for the hectic schedules of military participants.

With estimates predicting 41% revenue growth in 2009, Cramer said investors will be hard pressed to find that kind of growth anywhere else in the market.

American Public Education recently issued a secondary offering of stock at $37.50 a share. Cramer urged investors to be patient, and let the stock come to them. He said $37 a share would be the price to pull the trigger.

Once Hated, Now Loved

In a surprising change of heart, Cramer added home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD Quote) to his list of the "Top 5 Dow Stocks For 2009."

Home Depot joins Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote), Verizon (VZ Quote), Johnson & Johnson and Caterpillar (CAT Quote), which were featured earlier in the week.

Cramer said Home Depot is a play on the coming housing bottom, which he still predicts is only 171 days away. He said the combination of historically low interest rates with a federal government now pulling out all the stops to help people buy and save their homes with be a boon for Home Depot.