Improving views of the economy have helped hike President Barack Obama 's approval rating to a 20-month high , a new CNN/ORC poll showed Tuesday , as markets climbed to record levels at news of an economy in overdrive . More Americans still disapprove of the job Obama is doing as President . But at 48 % , Obama 's approval rating is at its highest point in CNN polling since May 2013 . The gains were driven by newfound backing among women , independents and millennials — groups where Obama 's approval numbers jumped 10 percentage points from a month ago . RELATED : Read the entire CNN/ORC poll . Meanwhile , Obama 's approval numbers ticked down among men , Republicans and Americans between 35 and 49 years old . The approval jump follows a late-quarter jolt in Obama 's governing agenda , which gained momentum after unilateral actions on immigration and relations with Cuba . Separate surveys have showed those moves popular among the American people . It all amounts to some welcome good news for Obama , whose unpopularity — despite consistently improving economic conditions — led to widespread losses for his party in November 's midterm elections . Tuesday 's poll still reflected pervasive disaffection for Obama : 56 % of respondents said the President has fallen short of their expectations , and 49 % said his policies would take the country in the wrong direction . The steady economic recovery has posed a conundrum for the White House , which wants some credit for decisions that helped pull the country from last decade 's recession . To the frustration of Obama and his aides , polls until recently showed Americans largely pessimistic about the country 's financial state , despite solid job growth and a bull market on Wall Street . In public remarks — even those unrelated to the economy — Obama has touted the latest positive economic sign . But even as the unemployment rate dipped below 6 % , a large portion of Americans were still gloomy about the economy . That 's because of how people felt about their own economic standing , which for many still includes stagnant wages or jobs in low-paying service fields . But as the recovery powers on , and the days of the downturn fade further into the past , Americans appear to have turned the page in their views of the economy . Tuesday 's CNN/ORC poll showed for the first time in seven years , a majority of Americans — 51 % — have a positive view of the economy , a sharp increase from the 38 % who felt that way in October . The jump was present in every demographic group — men , women , whites , non-whites , urban , rural — and was largest among Americans who earn less than $ 50,000 annually . Americans ' increasingly positive economic views parallel a drop in gas prices — a phenomenon most experts say a President has little control over . And they come as new data show the American economy growing at a surging rate . The Commerce Department said Tuesday that gross domestic product grew at 5 % in the third quarter — its fastest pace in more than a decade . Stocks rose sharply , with the Dow Jones Industrial Average topping 18,000 for the first time ever and the S & P 500 also reaching new heights . RELATED : Cuba releases Alan Gross , paves way for historic easing of sanctions with Cuba .
New polling shows Obama 's approval rating at 20-month mark . Obama continues to feel positive about economy . More Americans still disapprove of Obama 's job performance than approve .