The city's unemployment rate has now fallen to 4.1%, the lowest it has ever been since recordkeeping began three decades ago. Since this comes at a time when the number of people working in the city is more than 3.6 million, also an all-time high, we know that the good old days were never this good.

Consider that it was only 3 1/2 years ago, in March 2003, that the city's jobless rate hit a very painful 8.6%, well above the national average. It's now less than half that and below the national rate of 4.4%.

Of course, there's still more work required on the employment front. The last census showed the city's median income was $38,293, and 1.5 million New Yorkers remain under the poverty line. People are desperate for good-paying jobs with decent benefits. Just look at the thousands who mobbed the new M&M's World store in Times Square to apply for 65 full-time and 130 part-time jobs that start at $10.75 an hour, with health insurance and benefits. But the city has clearly reversed the downward trend.

There are a lot of people to thank for that reversal. Some of the credit must go to Mayor Bloomberg, who has run a tax-friendly, business-smart government contributing to job growth and job retention. But most belongs to the employers who are rebuilding New York City.

(c) New York Daily News, L.P.: reproduced with permission.