The US Federal Reserve said Wednesday that economic activity is beginning to stabilize in most regions and President Barack Obama said the US was witnessing the "beginning of the end" of its worst recession in decades. In a regional update, the central bank said most of its 12 regional branches reported "the pace of decline has moderated ... or that activity has begun to stabilize." Only Minneapolis, Minnesota, said its economy was still contracting. But many regions reported that jobs were still being lost. Only New York said its labour market was stabilizing. The nationwide unemployment rate is 9.5 per cent, the highest in 26 years. The Fed said most branches also reported "sluggish retail activity," while manufacturing sectors were only "slightly more positive." Residential housing sales were slowly improving, but the commercial real estate market remained "weak." Speaking at a townhall-style gathering in Raleigh, North Carolina, Obama sounded optimistic on the state of the US economy but warned that massive job losses were likely to continue for some time. "We may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession. But that's little comfort for all the folks who lost their job," Obama said. "We know the tough times aren't over." The US government is set Friday to release its first figures for second-quarter economic output. The Washington-based National Association of Business Economists predicted a 1.6-per-cent contraction - better than a 5.5-per-cent drop in the first quarter.
