--- title: Americans Are Happier About the Economy Than They Have Been Since 2004 description: The upswing in the economy may be helping President Obama's approval rating canonical: https://time.com/3674410/economy-optimism-americans/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-20T15:59:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:42:21.761Z article:section: Business og:title: Americans Are Happier About the Economy Than They've Been in a Decade og:description: The economic upswing is also boosting Obama og:url: https://time.com/3674410/economy-optimism-americans/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53535e2909e0fb50/69877ac73c1639f0d6451449/barack-obama-economy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-ECONOMY-OBAMA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Americans Are Happier About the Economy Than They've Been in a Decade twitter:description: The economic upswing is also boosting Obama twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53535e2909e0fb50/69877ac73c1639f0d6451449/barack-obama-economy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Americans Are Happier About the Economy Than They've Been in a Decade by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Jan 20, 2015 3:59 PM CUT  US President Barack Obama speaks about the automotive manufacturing industry at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. on Jan. 7, 2015. US President Barack Obama speaks about the automotive manufacturing industry at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. on Jan. 7, 2015.Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Jan 20, 2015 3:59 PM CUT Steady growth is bolstering the American public’s [confidence in the economy](http://www.wsj.com/articles/views-of-economy-brighten-wsj-nbc-poll-finds-1421730061?mod=WSJ%5Fhp%5FLEFTTopStories "undefined"), according to a new poll that shows people are more optimistic than they have been in 11 years. It’s good news for President Barack Obama as he prepares to give his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. About 45% Americans said they are satisfied with the state of the economy, a level unseen since January 2004, according to a [_Wall Street Journal_/NBC poll](http://www.wsj.com/articles/views-of-economy-brighten-wsj-nbc-poll-finds-1421730061?mod=WSJ%5Fhp%5FLEFTTopStories "undefined"). “For the first time, we have numbers that kind of bust out of the Great Recession Era,” said Bill McInturff, a Republican pollster who worked on the survey. Only 49% of Americans said the country was in a state of decline, the lowest level since on the question since 1991\. The poll of 800 adults found that the national mood is being bolstered by dropping fuel prices, increased employment, and economic growth. Obama’s overall approval rating has also risen to 46%, and 49% of Americans now approve of his handling of the economy—the highest level since he won reelection in 2012\. But Congress’ approval ratings remain at an abysmal 16% “Throughout most of 2014, Barack Obama had a stiff wind in his face,” said [Peter Hart](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2015-state-of-the-union/economy-gives-obama-slight-lift-ahead-sixth-state-union-n289201 "undefined"), a Democratic pollster who worked on the survey. “He starts 2015 with a slight breeze at his back.” \[[_WSJ_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/views-of-economy-brighten-wsj-nbc-poll-finds-1421730061?mod=WSJ%5Fhp%5FLEFTTopStories "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3674410/economy-optimism-americans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3674410/economy-optimism-americans/"},"headline":"Americans Are Happier About the Economy Than They've Been in a Decade","datePublished":"2015-01-20T15:59:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:42:21.761Z","description":"The economic upswing is also boosting Obama","url":"https://time.com/3674410/economy-optimism-americans/","keywords":["Economy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53535e2909e0fb50/69877ac73c1639f0d6451449/barack-obama-economy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53535e2909e0fb50/69877ac73c1639f0d6451449/barack-obama-economy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-ECONOMY-OBAMA","caption":"US-POLITICS-ECONOMY-OBAMA","creditText":"Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/economy/","name":"Economy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3674410/economy-optimism-americans/","name":"Americans Are Happier About the Economy Than They've Been in a Decade"}}]}] ```