Associated Press: Rita Foley- 'Unemployment Ticks Down to 8.5%'

Source:Associated Press- Joanie Ruge talking about the jobs report.

"A burst of hiring in December pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level in nearly three years, giving the economy a boost at the end of 2011." 

From the Associated Press 

At risk of sounding like I work at the communications office at the Obama White House: we were in a huge hole at the start of 2009 that was so deep you dimply can't completely dig yourself out of that in 3 years. We lost 1.5 million jobs just in the last two months of 2008 alone and another 5 million in 2009. And when a good jobs reports is 200 thousand plus for any month during any economic period, it's going to take a while to get the economy back to full health and unemployment. 

But recent trends from 2010 and 2011 show that the economy is getting better as far as consistent but not great economic growth, as well as good job growth. So if you are President Barack Obama having to run for reelection in 2012 with the economy that he has, he should be feeling good about recent economic trends.