WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's approval rating is on the rise - thanks to an improving economic outlook and strong backing from young people.

An Associated Press-Gfk poll shows that half of those questioned say they approve of the job Obama is doing. That's the highest approval rating since 2013.

The climb coincides with a slight apparent increase in people's optimism about the economy.

The poll shows young people and Democrats give Obama the biggest boost. Fifty-five percent of people under age 50 gave Obama good marks - up 10 percentage points from February.

Among Democrats, the number went from 80 percent to 86 percent.

The poll of 1,076 adults was conducted online March 31-April 4. It has a sampling error for all respondents of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.