President Obama’s approval rating has risen nine percentage points in the last month, and his disapproval rate has dropped 10.

The main reason Obama’s popularity has risen is the improving economy.

The Washington Post News poll shows that 41 percent of people have a positive rate on the economy, compared to 27 percent in October. Gas prices have gone down, the stock market has doubled, job offers are more frequent, and people have extra money to spend.

Americans favor a strong economy so more Independent and Democratic voters are supporting Obama.

The New York Times states, “there is a well-established relationship between the pace of economic growth and a president’s approval ratings, and President Obama is clearly benefiting from signs of accelerating economic growth.”

When Obama first took office in 2009 the unemployment rate increased 1.9 percent points resulting in 9.7 percent in 2010.  Over the last five years the unemployment rate was over 8 percent and Obama’s economic teams promised to keep those rates under 8 percent.

This year, the percent lies at 6.1 which is the biggest decline in unemployment.

Although the increase in Obama’s rating was mainly because of the strengthening in America’s economy, it was also a result of his executive actions on immigration, climate change, Cuba, and Internet policy.

During the State of the Union speech, Obama re-established a sense of pride for the American citizens. He strongly addressed how the future can improve with paid family leave, equal pay for women, free universal community college, and investment in an infrastructure.