Is Economy Picking Up?

Exactly one year ago, I went to a small start-up for a job interview. I was doing well in the interview, but nothing happened, so I moved on and eventually joined my current company. Today I received an email from the VP of engineering (he was from my Alma Mater), asking me if I would still be interested. (He explained that they had a hiring freeze last year due to bad economy, but had released the product this year and needed to do some rapid hiring.) Wow, apparently you could get an interview response one year after the interview, what a lovely surprise. Does this mean the economy is getting better? I don't know, but I certainly hope so.