Is the economy really getting better?

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I would say yes and no. Yes because there are more jobs available. The problem is most of them are temp/contract. So virtually you have jobs that will pay you less then market value because being a temp means you will have a percentage of your pay taken by the agency and you'll get no benefits. The non-temp jobs have ridiculously high requirements for job applicants (ex: 5-10 years experience for a 30k a year job) and they will be allowed to be as picky as they want because it's an employers market and they know people need the jobs so they can both raise the qualifications for the job and low ball the pay. So all in all, the economy may be getting a bit better but it also still sucks too. If you are just starting out in the workforce you will have to try your luck with temping because those jobs are much easier to get but they offer no job security. Otherwise, college degree or no, you will always be passed over for others with more work experience for the better permanent positions.

Here where I live the economy is in the gutter.
12% unemployment, deficit is around 6%, the national debt has reached 2 trillion Euros (2,6 trillion dollars), jobs are still being lost every day, nobody wants to invest here (due to high taxes) the national growth is down at 0,1% (and you need at least 3% to created jobs), around 10% of the population is living under the poverty line (25% if it wasn't for social benefits) and the worst part, is that the government thought that by raising taxes like never before and imposing a 75% tax rate more money will be collected, turned out it's the contrary, never in history has so little money been collected.
So nope, I wouldn't say the economy is doing well in France, contrary to all the other European countries, even Greece is starting to do better...

I have such a poor work history. so its a moot point if the economy is getting better or not, just makes me feel more pathetic that at the age of 39 I am less employable (with a BA & MS degrees) than a high school grad 20 years my junior.
If the economy is getting better, how can I find a job with a very bad work history... I have been diagnosed and given medication for depression, Bipolar, ADHD (Adderalll, Ritalin) , anti anxiety medication (clonozepam) where I could barely stay awake and concentrate and fell asleep in my car during lunch hour then chewed out because I took an extra 30 minutes for lunch and fired next day...

Great for all the 'millenials' (or anyone born between 1980 - 2000) because the media seems to make it seem like employers have some type of 'moral obligation' to hire these kids in this age group irregardless if they have issues with the above I discussed (poor work history, gaps in career).. for me, I have been told directly & indirectly that I am SOL so I get by on indirect investment income and unfortunately having to hit up parents for money

Yep... I admit we have a lot of comfort materially, but, my sons have been asked some funny questions by the neighbor kids.
1. why does your family only have one car?
2. why don't you have cable?
3. you don't have a gaming console?/

Seriously, one of the kids that asked about the car (there were multiple), their family has two cars, but, neither of the adults works? We can get by one one car because I'm the only one who commutes, my husband works from home.
We intend to retire to a location with good public transportation, like my MIL has, so we don't have to worry about a car at all.

My goal growing up was merely to provide myself medical coverage, and to provide it for the family I would eventually have. Even that is a luxury compared to many countries, but, I'd kinda like to keep living, and with a decent quality of life.

medical coverage has always been a luxury in America.

I see you are from New England?? Is that in Eastern MA, Southern NH or CT? I am from NYC and find that this region of New England is extremely snooty, antisanal, very very judgemental on 'where you grew up', 'who you knew & know in said neighborhood', and won't even consider you if you aren't from "here" and work for the 'name' Boston companies (ie. State Street, Boston Scientific, Wellington, and of course all the "elite" universities comprised of mostly the children of the top 2%) ... So I am basically unemployable being that I am not 'from here' (count on one hand the number of NY'ers who moved to the Boston area), didn't goto a school like BC or Bentley, not obsessed with Boston teams and of course don't have that upwardly mobile career path.. Also, as 'progressive' as the area is in terms of healthcare you have to be wealthy to receive it.. Mass Health & the new ACA programs are a joke and do nothing for any type of mental illness (except charge $10 co pay for medication so the assigned PCP just writes me the scripts like legalized drug dealing

Especially the top hospitals in the USA, you are SOL if you do not have insurance (ACA is mostly a joke because the deductibles are usually between $2,000 - $5,000 before this 'affordable care act insurance' will cover anything and the top medical facilities like Mass General don't even accept anything that resembles Mass Health, Medicaid, Medicaire... Either you have to have full employer based coverage or pay tens of thousands upfront for any type of care

and all of that is because the bulk of the middle class sees the working class as disposable.