Pew Poll: Obama Approval Rating Up Five Points

President Barack Obama’s job approval rating is up five percentage points, a new poll released Wednesday shows.

The Pew Research Center survey shows Obama’s job approval is up to 47 percent from 42 percent in December.

President Bill Clinton was at 63 percent around the six-year mark of his administration, while President George W. Bush was at 33 percent. President Ronald Reagan, who was dealing with the Iran-Contra scandal at the same time in his time in office, had a 49 percent approval rating.

Much of Obama's increase could be a more favorable economic outlook, RealClearPolitics reports.

Nearly three in 10 Americans said economic conditions are excellent or good, up more than 10 percentage points from the same time last year.

But it wasn't all good news for Obama and the economy. Nearly half of Americans still labeled the economy "only fair" and nearly a quarter said it was poor. More than half of Americans said their incomes are falling behind the cost of living, about the same as last year.

Americans also remain pessimistic about Republicans and Democrats working together in Washington; 71 percent think the parties will bicker more than usual this year, while 22 percent expect more bipartisan cooperation, the survey shows.

The margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

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