Poll: Obama job approval up to 47 percent

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WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's job-approval rating hit 47 percent in April, the highest level in nearly a year, a Gallup Poll indicated Tuesday.

Obama's approval rating touched 50 percent last May following the Pakistan raid that killed Osama bin Laden but had eroded to as low as 41 percent late last summer.

The recent improvement was also seen in recent weekly and three-day polls conducted by Gallup that included a 50-percent approval last week.

Obama has apparently been gaining approval among Democrats, independents and even Republicans since his nadir in August. Approval by key independent voters was up 8 percentage points from August to 43 percent, although 45 percent of independents disapprove of his performance.

Gallup noted in a written statement the overall upward trend in an election could be significant given that incumbents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush saw their approval ratings steadily decline prior to their re-election losses.

Tuesday's poll was conducted nationwide April 1-29 among 14,081 adults. The margin of error was plus or minus 1 percentage point.