I look at it this way--when the number of people employed equals the number employed BEFORE the 2008 recession, then maybe, just MAYBE, this administration can claim there's some sort of "recovery." But thus far, in the FOUR YEARS since the recession ended, the economy has only added HALF the jobs lost. At no point since the records were kept has it taken this long to recover.
This is, quite literally, the worst economy since the Great Depression. In some ways, it's WORSE.