President Barack Obama’s approval rating has increased for the first time since June 2013, according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
The poll showed that 48 percent of Americans approve the president’s performance while 47 percent disapprove. He received positive ratings for his performance on the economy for the second time in three WSJ/NBC polls this year—49 percent approved compared to 47 percent who disapproved.
Although Obama’s approval rating on foreign policy has been in the 30s since March 2014, the rate increased from 36 percent to 40 percent.
When asked how they feel about the president in general – rather than about any of his specific policies – many Americans said they like him: 47 percent rate the president favorably, while 40 percent rate him unfavorably.
According to Gallup, Obama’s increase in approval could be a result of falling gas prices in late 2014, a growing job market and efforts to improve relationships with other countries. NBC suggested that the increase of favorable ratings could also be from Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House.
The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted from April 26-30. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.10 percentage points.