In 2015, the American economy is in its best shape since the recession, but the improving job market has so far failed to help most Americans earn significantly more at work. The Labor Department reported that employers added 252,000 workers to their payrolls in December 2014, bettering a year in which total employment rose by 2.95 million. The unemployment rate also improved, coming down last month to 5.6 percent from 5.8 percent in November (Searcey). While economists cheer the clear improvement in the basic unemployment rate, they also fret that a portion of that improvement stems from Americans leaving the labor market rather than finding jobs after experiencing joblessness (Jacobson). It appears that the people and parts of the federal government do not consistently accept the determination of the rate of unemployment. It may be possible that the unemployment rate may be dropping only because people have stopped looking for work, not due to the federal government. During his State of the Union address this year, Obama said, "our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis." In 2014 about 300 businesses, including 20 Fortune 50 companies, signed a document promising not to discriminate against job applicants just because they have been out of work for an extended period of time (Hennessey). For a president entering the seventh year of his presidency, the State of the Union can be a final chance to move past difficulties and set the agenda before the next campaign swings into high gear and consumes the nation’s attention (Baker). The federal government wants to give working families a fair shot, but still need more employers to see beyond next quarter’s earnings and recognize that investing in their work force is in their company’s long-term interest. We still need laws that strengthen rather than weaken unions, and give American workers a voice. Also, to make sure folks keep earning higher wages dow