The percentage of Americans who report feeling satisfied with the direction of the U.S. is near the highest levels since 2006, according to a new poll.

A Gallup poll released Wednesday shows that 36 percent of Americans are satisfied with “the way things are going” in the U.S. That is slightly higher than the average so far for 2018, 34 percent, and is an increase from an average of 27 percent last year.

August is also the fifth month so far this year in which the satisfaction rating was at least 35 percent among Americans – more monthly readings than any other year since 2006.

{mosads}

Gallup noted that higher satisfaction ratings are historically linked to economic strength in the country, with the increasing numbers this year coming amid positive economic news, such as a lower unemployment rate.

The poll hit an average satisfaction of 60 percent during the economic boom of the late 1990s, and bottomed out at 15 percent during the recession in 2008.

The latest satisfaction results are largely split along party lines, with 67 percent of Republicans expressing satisfaction with the country’s direction compared to just 12 percent of Democrats.

The poll notes that Republicans are roughly as satisfied as they were under the George W. Bush administration and Democrats are about as unsatisfied as Republicans were under President Obama. 

The latest Gallup survey of 1,024 adults was conducted Aug. 1-12 via landlines and cellphones and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.