Is the unemployment picture getting prettier?

Guess it depends on whether you have a job.

Here are some data points, courtesy of Carpe Diem.

Private-sector jobs have increased in each month this year, and by 67,000 in August, bringing the total to 763,000 private-sector jobs that have been created this year.  This is the first time since December 2006 to July 2007, three years ago, of eight consecutive monthly gains in private-sector employment.

"The U.S. Monster Employment Index recorded its seventh consecutive month of positive year-over-year in August at a growth rate at 12.4 percent. The annual growth rate eased from July's 21% growth possibly due to moderation in underlying job market drivers. The Index dropped two points (1 percent) in August to 136 (from 138 in July) as online job demand eased contrary to seasonal patterns traditionally witnessed at this time of the year.

"Online advertised vacancies dropped 57,100 in August to 4,236,200, following an increase of 139,200 in July, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series. The gap between the number of unemployed and advertised vacancies (supply/demand rate) stood at 3.40 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in July (the last available unemployment data) but is down from its peak of 4.73 in October 2009."