'US needs new stimulus'

WASHINGTON: The US economy needs a new stimulus in the face of growth that is too weak to fuel enough job creation to bring unemployment down, Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Thursday.

“The single most important thing we can do (for the economy) is to pass a second stimulus,” Stiglitz told an economic forum at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. The Columbia University professor said that the US economy has “pulled back from the precipice”, but that “I don’t think anyone would describe the current situation as a strong recovery”.

Stiglitz added that “officially, the recession may be over”, but that “in terms of the way individuals feel”, and the level of confidence of business”, the recession is far from over. “The real factor is that the recovery hasn’t been strong enough to create new jobs,” he said. Stiglitz said although official unemployment is 10%, adding in the ranks of discourage workers and the “underemployed” brings this to around 19%.