Relative the situation, its been good, but relative to other things, not hot at all.
True, we are coming out of the funk IMO, hopefully for good and for a long time.
In short, I don't care one bit about inventories. I don't care about productivity or any other mundane statistic. Nor do I care about on paper being at 'full employment'.
Until its reflected in my wallet, thats the only measure I care about.
Basically put, saying everything is going just soooo great is just as wrong as saying everything is soooo awful. Truth is, its been pretty bad and most people are sick of it. Thats not to say there is no recognition that its improving, because it is, but it still has a ways to go before most of us are satisfied.
I guess you are having financial/job problems, so to you, everything has been "pretty bad". Case closed.