U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday shifted his focus on the country's economy, the issue that voters consider most important as the November midterm election approaches.

Obama is trying to emphasize the positive effect that his policies had on the U.S. economy. His previous attempt to roll out his strategy were only crowded out by international crises such as those in Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, and the Ebola outbreak in western Africa, according to Reuters.

Like Us on Facebook

The U.S. president's speech on Thursday contained comparisons between the policies of the Democrats and Republicans. He emphasized the need for the Democrats to maintain control of the Senate in the midterms to implement strategies for economic growth such as minimum wage increase, retraining of workers and additional infrastructures.

The Republicans were quick to respond to his speech, with Senator Mitch McConnell saying the Obama administration has dampened the economy with its futile efforts on taxing, spending and borrowing.

Obama then enumerated a list of his accomplishments including the lower unemployment rate since 2009. He also highlighted the boom in various industries such as energy, stock market, export, manufacturing and technology. He also emphasized that the country's deficit has been diminished.

 "By every economic measure, we are better off now than when I took office," Obama told his audience at the Kellogg School of Management in Illinois.

However, the polls do not reflect the president's good news about the economy. According to data gathered by the Census Bureau, the income of the average family plunged by over US$2,100.

An Ipsos poll shows that less than one in 10 U.S. citizens approve of Obama's economic accomplishments. In addition, two-thirds of Americans think the economy is going south, the poll said.

The president, however, acknowledged that there are still many Americans who find it hard to save up and pay their bills. It could take many years of reform and investments for the U.S. economy to expand, Obama explained.

Obama said the country needs to do a lot of things to build a solid economic foundation. If they can do this, the U.S. will be able to achieve an economy with a stronger growth within the next decade, he vowed.

TagsObama, midterm elections, U.S. election, U.S. economy, Democrats