Dive Brief:

• The percentage of Americans feeling positive about the U.S. job market -- saying now is a "good time" to find a quality job -- jumped six percentage points in the past month to 45%, restoring this figure to the seven-year high it reached in January, according to Gallup.
• The latest figure is one of the highest Gallup has recorded since it began tracking the question in 2001. Americans were the most optimistic in January 2007, when 48% said it was a good time to find a quality job. 
• This month's six-point increase is the largest increase of the year so far. Despite this spike in optimism, slightly more than half of Americans (51%) continue to say it is a "bad time" to find a job.

Dive Insight:

Gallup has previously found that Americans' perceptions of the job market's health correlate with their political identification and whether their party occupies the White House. As has been the case since Democratic President Barack Obama took office, Americans who identify as or lean Democratic are a great deal more likely to say it is a good time to find a job (55%) than those who identify as or lean Republican (38%).

Gallup says Americans' improved perceptions of the job market in September come as U.S. workers' perceptions of job creation in their own places of employment continue to be the most positive since 2008. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics' unemployment rate is the lowest rate since 2008.

The increase in positive perceptions among Americans about the job market since August are not, however, reflected in their views of U.S. economic health at large, with economic confidence currently running about -14, compared with -13 in all of August.

For HR leaders, the increasing optimism on jobs is a good opportunity to enhance recruiting strategies as American workers look for potential job changes. In short, there will be more talent in the job marketplace.