Hard-hit worker wonders where the economic resurgence is

In this Jan. 2, 2015 photo, Joshua Thevenin, 29, packs boxes of unsold fireworks from inside a roadside tent Monday, Jan. 5, 2015, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Thevenin has worked as a newspaper salesman, fireworks vendor and tele-marketer. He lost his truck, missed his rent payment and had to go on food stamps. Like many workers barely holding on, he can't relate to President Obama's talk of an ''American resurgence.'' The fireworks were being sent back to the supplier. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) In this Jan. 2, 2015 photo, Joshua Thevenin, 29, packs boxes of unsold fireworks from inside a roadside tent Monday, Jan. 5, 2015, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Thevenin has worked as a newspaper salesman, fireworks vendor and tele-marketer. He lost his truck, missed his rent payment and had to go on food stamps. Like many workers barely holding on, he can't relate to President Obama's talk of an ''American resurgence.'' The fireworks were being sent back to the supplier. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

By Associated Press January 22, 2015 6 min read

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Ask Joshua Thevenin – who since last month has been a newspaper salesman, fireworks vendor and tele-marketer – what he thinks about assertions the economy is roaring toward recovery and you’ll get a sigh and a shake of his head.

“I don’t see it. If it is, I don’t know where,” he said.

Lately, everyone from economists to President Barack Obama himself are bullish on the economy. Labor Department statistics this month showed that a healthy month of hiring in December capped the best year for U.S. job growth since 1999, with nearly 3 million jobs added in 2014.

During the State of the Union speech, Obama acknowledged that “it has been, and still is, a hard time for many.”

He added: “But tonight, we turn the page.”