Obama vows 'urgent resolve' as crisis worsens

US president-elect Barack Obama said the US economy would get worse before it gets better today as new figures showed the nation suffered its worst month of job losses in 34 years in November.

Employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7%, figures by the US Labour Department showed.

Mr Obama said the “painful crisis” was an “opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people”.

He said the figures were “a dramatic reflection of the growing economic crisis we face” and further evidence that his economic recovery plan, which plans to save or create 2.5 million jobs over two years, was needed.

In his statement, Mr Obama, who takes over from unpopular incumbent President George Bush at noon on January 20, said: “There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.

“But now is the time to respond with urgent resolve to put people back to work and get our economy moving again.”

He added: “At the same time, this painful crisis also provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernising schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come.”

The president-elect, who was holding private meetings in Chicago today, went on: “Each of those lost jobs represents a personal crisis for a family somewhere in America.

“Our economy has already lost nearly two million jobs during this recession, which is why we need an economic recovery plan that will save or create at least 2.5 million more jobs over two years while we act decisively to maintain the flows of credit on which so many American families and American businesses depend.”

Speaking outside the White House, Mr Bush said the announcement of the jobless figures "reflects the fact that our economy is in a recession''.

He said this was caused by several problems in the housing, credit and financial markets.

“I’m concerned about our workers who lost jobs during the downturn,” he said.

“We’re focusing on the root causes of the economic downturn in order to return our economy to health.

“There’s still some work to do but there are some encouraging signs.”