With numbers coming in prompting economic analysts to use elated phrases such as “off the charts” and “its about time,” it looks as if Christmas may be a little bit better for a lot of Americans this year. Economists expected a 228,000 job gain, but the final number greatly exceeded predictions with 321,000 new jobs.

CNN Money states that close to 70 percent of U.S. industries have added jobs last month, which has not been matched in over a decade. To compare, 86 percent of the companies in the U.S. were cutting jobs 5 years ago.

To add to the surge, electronics chain stores and department stores are not cutting staff although losing income due to online shopping. Some part-time workers are being moved to full-time at this time, and the entire staff will generally experience longer work hours. Benefits may also be more available. For instance, a global outsourcing service in Nashville, Tenn. is offering close to 5,7000 full-time jobs with benefits. Kohl has hired 34 percent more seasonal workers than last year, Wal-Mart 10 percent more and shippers UPS and FedEx are also employing more workers than the year before.

CNN Money states that 2014 was a year of strong economic growth due to the public being able to meet the once-suppressed demand for homes and cars along with low energy prices. In contrast, local schools,state governments, coal mining companies and textile and clothing manufacturers are cutting jobs, which leads to the question of whether these new jobs available provide a long-term benefit to workers.

Many of the new jobs do not provide high pay. Median wages in retail and wholesale trade have dropped 15 percent, and hospitality and leisure wages have fallen 5 percent. Industries that typically hire 25 to 34-year-olds have mostly all fallen in the past 10 years. The healthcare industry, known for providing satisfactory wages, was the only group that saw an increase in wages— but only at 2 percent.

While living expenses such as gas prices have fallen for most U.S. citizens – South Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Virginia and New Mexico may soon be joining Oklahoma in their gas dropping below $2 – workers are still discontent with the living/pay ratio. Wages have been notably stagnant in 2014 with a paltry 2.1 percent increase.

It has been theorized that the large number of unemployed in the nation enables employers to choose workers who agree to lower wages. The rotating door seems to equate to lethargic wages, although some expect the growth to increase soon.

While events such as these quickly raise political debates, it also adds to the current question of whether to raise the minimum wage. The Washington Post recently referenced the metropolitan with the highest percentage of annual job growth in the nation as well as the highest minimum wage in the nation— San Francisco— to suggest that raising the minimum wage may actually cause more job creation. The Washington Post suggests that providing more money to the working poor— the people most likely to take advantage of many of the new jobs recently made available— may increase the overall community’s level of sales by way of rent costs, food, child care and transportation.

Meanwhile, Americans express an overall satisfaction with their jobs, but 76 percent of them told an Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll that they also felt as if they just “work to live.” Forty-seven percent of these workers also work nights and weekends and are likely to take advantage of the recently increased hours, and possibly take on another job as supplement this season.