This is great news for Barack Obama:

More people said they believe the economy will get better (37 percent) in the next year rather than worse (17 percent). That’s the highest level in more than a year and a seven-point jump over last month. It also represents a reversal from October, when 32 percent of Americans said they expected the economy to get worse, versus 21 percent who expected improvement...The number of people who said the country is headed in the right direction, 30 percent, remains far lower than the 61 percent of U.S. adults who think it is off on the wrong track.

But the figures represent a change in trajectory; the number of Americans who said the country is on the right track is up eight points from last month, and 13 points from October.

And for the first time in six months, more people approve of the job the president is doing (48 percent) than disapprove (46 percent).

The economy is still fragile; all it would take is one economic collapse in Europe to push those poll numbers way down. But for right now, the trend is in President Obama's favor.