Americans Feeling Better About Their Job Hunt

Optimism about the labor market has returned to pre-recession levels, according to a new Gallup poll.

Employees wait to greet job seekers during a Kroger Co. Hiring Fair at one of the company's grocery stores in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg'
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Americans' employment outlook has returned to pre-Great Recession levels, with the highest number of people expressing a positive outlook about the job market since November 2007.

Thirty-six percent of respondents said now is a "good time" to find a "quality job" in December, up six percentage points from last month, according to a Gallup survey released on Monday. While 61 percent of people believe it's a bad time to find a job, those numbers have also declined, from 66 percent in November and 73 percent in December 2013.

Gallup has asked respondents the job question since 2001. The high-water mark for people believing it was a "good time" to find a good job was 48 percent in January 2007. The lowest was 8 percent, most recently in November 2011.