(Image source: Flickr / jdnx) 

BY EMILY SPAIN

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Things are looking up... The monthly U.S. jobs report is out with the lowest unemployment rate in three years, sitting at 8.5 percent. Plus the country added 200,000 jobs in December. This - all on the heels of rising consumer confidence, manufacturing increases and small business growth.  

A High Frequency Economics analyst praised the stats and told the New York Times: “This is the real thing ... This is finally the economy throwing off the shackles of the credit crunch.”  

But a writer for The Atlantic says wait a minute, this jobs report may be positive in comparison to where the nation’s been, but the reason why it’s good might actually be bad.

“...here’s the problem. The unemployment rate is falling in large part because millions of people have dropped out of the labor market entirely ... If the size of the workforce were the same as when Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be 10.9 percent.”

Wall Street hasn’t responded well to the latest job report either. Bloomberg reports stocks are still slipping because traders are skeptical.

“The U.S. trading session which has been negative since the opening bell. Yes, The jobs report appeared to surprise to the upside. But traders are not convinced today. You’re seeing euro weakness, continued concerns about what is opening in Europe. And you can see that stocks are down.”

But CNN reports people can’t expect things to get better over night, and notes restoring the economy will take time.

“You know what, call it human nature. Since things are improving, Kyra, expectations are rising. The economy has kind of taken off it’s training wheels at this point. But we really haven't seen it move into the fast lane where everybody wants it to be... But you have to be realistic. Normal could still be three to four years away.”

So will these first steps out of the economic slump help Obama in this year’s election? A writer for Salon says -- don’t count on it.

“Does that mean Mitt Romney will stop calling Obama a job-killer, or that the Democratic quest to hold on to the White House is assured? Of course not. Unemployment is still historically high, and the widespread perception that the economy is in bad shape won’t be changed easily.”

According to Fox News the stats may continue to get better in the months to come with many businesses saying they plan to start hiring in early 2012.  

Transcript by Newsy.