Updated on Saturday, January 03, 2009, 00:00 IST

Washington, Jan 03: US President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday highlighted the need for an American recovery and reinvestment plan, which would create three million jobs and pull back the country's economy from its current phase of deep recession.

In his weekly radio address, the President-elect said the US needs an American recovery and reinvestment plan that not only creates jobs in the short-term but spurs economic growth and competitiveness in the long-term.

Economists from across the political spectrum agree that "if we don't act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn" which would lead to double digit unemployment and the American Dream slipping further and further out of reach, Obama said.

Observing that the new plan needs to be designed in a different way and not the old Washington habit of throwing money at the problem, Obama said, "We must make strategic investments that will serve as a down payment on our long-term economic future."

"We must demand vigorous oversight and strict accountability for achieving results. We must also restore fiscal responsibility and make tough choices so that as the economy recovers, the deficit starts to come down," the President-elect said, adding, that is how we will achieve the number one goal of my plan - which is to create three million new jobs, more than eighty per cent of them in the private sector."

Bureau Report