US economic recovery painfully slow: Obama
US President Barack Obama described the economic recovery as being "painfully slow" and called for US Congress to enact measures to reduce taxes for businesses and middle-income Americans while extended rates for the wealthier proportion of the nation (Bloomberg, 09-Sep-2010). Similarly, US Federal Reserve stated the economy, while expanding, is showing "widespread signs of deceleration". Separately, US Labor Department stated (08-Sep-2010) job openings in Jul-2010 increased by 178,000 to 3.0 million, although the number of job openings remains below the 4.4 million when the recession began in Dec-2007. Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve stated consumer borrowing declined for a sixth consecutive month in Jul-2010, declining USD3.6 billion following a revised USD1 billion reduction in Jun-2010, less than initially estimated.