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Bush says clear that economy has slowed

WASHINGTON
Fri Mar 7, 2008 2:31pm EST
A pedestrian passes in front of the Federal Reserve Building in Washington January 22, 2008. The White House said on Friday that it was disappointed in the biggest monthly decline in nearly five years in U.S. job payrolls and that the current quarter would be difficult for the U.S. economy.REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday said he was concerned about the U.S. economy which had clearly slowed.

"I know Americans are concerned about our economy, so am I," Bush said to reporters. "It's clear our economy has slowed, but the good news is we anticipated this and took decisive action to bolster the economy by passing a growth package that will put money into the hands of American workers and businesses."

He spoke after the Labor Department said U.S. payrolls fell by 63,000 in February, and the Federal Reserve announced emergency measures to ease liquidity strains in the banking system.

"We believe that the steps we've taken together with the actions taken by the Federal Reserve will have a positive effect on our economy," Bush said, adding that the government had provided the economy with a "booster shot," and the impact would start to be seen in the coming months.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria)


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