President Barack Obama says the economic stimulus legislation he signed a year ago to help the struggling economy has saved or created about two million jobs and kept the recession from getting worse.
In a White House speech Wednesday marking the first anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Mr. Obama said supporting the $787 billion measure was the right thing to do, even if it was politically difficult. He says there is still work to do because too many people remain unemployed. But opposition Republicans call the measure ineffective and say it has done too little to cut unemployment.
The U.S. central bank predicts unemployment will stay high over the next two years as the economy improves at a moderate pace. The Federal Reserve published updated projections Wednesday saying the unemployment rate this year will average between 9.5 and 9.7 percent.