Washington: Describing the US economic conditions as "dire" and "deteriorating", President-elect Barack Obama today said the latest job-loss data indicates that urgent action is necessary to revive and restore the country's economy.

"This morning, we received a stark reminder about how urgently action is needed. Clearly, the situation is dire. It is deteriorating and it demands urgent and immediate action," Obama said referring to the unemployment report released by the Labour Department. "5,24,000 jobs were lost in December across nearly all major American industries. That means that our economy lost jobs in all 12 months of 2008 and that nearly 2.6 million jobs lost last year amount to the single worst year of job loss since World War II," Obama said.

The President-elect said the unemployment rate is now well over seven per cent. In addition, there are 3.4 million people who want full-time work but are only able to get part-time work. Obama, who assumes the presidency in 11 days, has been pushing the Congress for a mega USD 750 billion stimulus plan to bailout the US economy.

"We've made good progress on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan in these consultations," he said referring to his meetings with Congressional leaders in this regard. The Plan will save or create 3 million jobs and make long-term investments in critical areas like energy, health care, and education.

Source : PTI