Less than a quarter of all Americans say the economy is in good shape, according to a new national poll. But the 24 percent who give the economy a thumbs-up in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday represents a six-point jump since November.

According to the poll, three out of four say economic conditions now are poor, but that’s the lowest that figure has been since August, 2008. The number of respondents who rate the current economic conditions as very poor is down from 44% two months ago to 35 percent now.

“Economic optimism has grown by leaps and bounds in the Western states. Fifty percent of westerners said the economy was in very poor shape in November, but only 28 percent feel that way today,“ says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

“People with no college degree are also more likely to give the economy a better grade than college graduates. Among college grads, the number who say the economy is in very poor shape dropped by only three points, but it dropped nine points among people without a college degree.“

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted January 14-16, with 1,014 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.