US President Barack Obama on Saturday called for "unprecedented action" to save the American economy, which has been in a recession since December 2007.

"If we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse," said the new president in his first weekly radio address at the White House.

Obama warned that if nothing is done, the unemployment rate could reach double digits.

"Our economy could fall 1 trillion dollars short of its full capacity, which translates into more than US$12,000 in lost income for a family of four," he stated.

"And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future," he added.

Obama said both parties in Congress are already working hard on the US$825 billion new stimulus package, adding that he hopes to "sign it into law in less than a month."

In his address, Obama also tried to ease concerns over the package, which many Republican lawmakers believed was too costly.

"I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my administration accountable for these results," said Obama.

"We'll launch an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2009)