The White House expects the US recession to continue through at least the first half of 2009 and unemployment to surge to 7.7 per cent this year, DPA quoted a forecast as issuing today. But the White House said the chips were in place for a strong recovery under president-elect Barack Obama, who takes office on Tuesday. A "vigorous" recovery is forecast in 2010 and 2011, when growth should jump back to 5 per cent, on a fourth quarter to fourth quarter basis. Unemployment should fall back down to 5 per cent by 2012. Some 2.6 million Americans lost their jobs in 2008 amid the worst economic crisis in decades. The US has been in recession since December 2007. The White House forecast a 0.2-per-cent contraction of the economy in 2008, ending six straight years of positive growth, but said the economy would grow by 0.6 per cent in 2009. The annual growth figures for any year include the final quarter of the previous year. The White House's forecast was more positive than most independent economic think tanks have predicted.
