Job recovery will be slow, economists say

NEW YORK, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Economists warned a recovery from the recession could take years, with U.S. unemployment expected to rise during Barack Obama's first term in office.

"We're in a post-bubble global recession and post-bubble recessions are lethal for growth," said Stephan Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.

"It will be a long time before the world experiences anything more than anemic recovery," he said, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

A recent study by Barack adviser Christina Romer and Vice-President Joe Biden's chief economist, Jared Bernstein, concluded that a $825 billion economic stimulus bill would not be enough to offset rising unemployment, the Times said.

An additional 1.5 million could be unemployed four years from now, the Times said.

Many economists say the recession would not lead to a depression, but a prolonged, painful stagnant period.

"Four years from now, I suspect that we'll be pretty much where we are today," said Simon Johnson, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

The question, then, as now, will be: "Why can't we get growth going again?" he said.