国际英语新闻：Obama says more progress needs to be made to boost U.S. economy growth

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that the United States has made progress in bolstering the economic recovery up to date, but there is more progress that needs to be done.

Obama made the remarks on Monday afternoon when visiting Fairfax, Virginia, where he met with a local family and hosted a backyard discussion on the economy with neighbors and small business owners from the area.

The U.S. economy is growing, but not growing as fast as we like, he said, adding that "the pace of improvement has not been where it needs to be."

Obama emphasized the importance of the array of targeted initiatives including permanent extension of research and development tax credits for businesses and infrastructure investments in an effort to stimulate the economy and accelerate employment that the administration put forth recently.

President Barack Obama speaks to residents and small business owners after taking questions in the yard of a residential house in Fairfax, Virginia September 13, 2010.

Obama spoke at a middle-class home, who saw their retirement and college savings suffer during the economic downturn like many other families across the United States. The father worked in the technology sector who has survived several rounds of layoffs, while the mother decided to go back to work on a part-time basis to increase family income.

The couple were "cautiously hopeful" the U.S. economy was on the path to recovery and that their savings would bounce back.

Although the United States has added new jobs this year, it was not enough to make up for the 8 million jobs caused by the recession and that was "an enormous challenge," he added.

U.S. private companies added 67,000 jobs last month, well below the amount generated in July, reported by the U.S. Labor Department. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 9.6 percent in August, reflecting business reluctance to hire against the backdrop of a sagging economy.

With his fellow Democrats facing pressure from recession-weary voters in the coming congressional elections, Obama endeavored to speed up the pace of creating jobs and reducing the stubbornly high unemployment rate hovering around 10 percent.

Jobs, cited by many polls as Americans' most concerned issue, will in large part decide the outcome of the midterm elections.

"We stopped the bleeding and stabilized the economy," he said, adding that he has never been more confident of the U.S. economy in the future if appropriate measures were to be taken.

In a similar rosy projection, big-name investor Warren Buffett said on Monday that the United States and the world would not fall into a double-dip recession and he saw a bright business future in attending a conference in Montana.