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Morning Money Memo:

The new numbers look great and the experts are telling us the U.S. economy is poised for stronger growth in 2015. Friday's jobs report was better than expected, while the recent sharp decline in oil and gasoline prices is improving household finances and cutting costs for many businesses.

But for most consumers, this is the "I'm not feeling it yet" economy.

At 5.8 percent, the U.S. jobless rate is still fall from full employment. While the November employment report from the Labor Department showed solid growth in new hiring, there was only a modest improvement in wage rates.

U.S. living standards have been flat since the recession ended in 2010. Surveys of consumer sentiment have improved this year, but confidence, which was battered by the worst recession in decades, has not returned to normal levels.

"The expansion has been an unusually slow one because of the nature and depth of the recession of 2008-9," deputy chief economist Tim Gill of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association says. The economy is still "struggling to really step-up to that next level of growth," he added.

The share of the population with full-time jobs is still well below the historical average. Millions of Americans who gave up looking for work have not re-entered the labor market.

Exit polling from last month's midterm elections showed most voters were in a gloomy mood. Seventy-eight percent said they were worried about the direction of the economy in the next year. Only 32 percent said the economy was improving.

"While most consumers may not be feeling the improvement yet, many businesses have rallied because of cheaper oil and gasoline costs. Airlines, freight haulers, repair services, farmers and manufacturers are among businesses that could save billions of dollars a year from tumbling fuel costs," USA Today says.

Retailers' share prices have jumped since the sharp fall in energy prices took hold. But it may take a while longer for the positive, almost giddy mood on Wall Street to be felt on Main Street.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesnow