Bush urges Congress to help automakers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday urged Congress to help those ailing automakers that can survive and said the jump in unemployment last month reflected the fact that the U.S. economy was in a recession.

"Today's job data reflects the fact that our economy is in a recession," Bush told reporters after the government reported the highest jump in monthly job losses in 34 years. It was the first time Bush has publicly acknowledged that the economy had fallen into a recession.

"We're working to stabilize the markets and make credit more affordable and available," he said, adding that some thawing had occurred in the credit markets. There is "still more work to do, but there are some encouraging signs," he said

As Bush spoke, automotive executives were lobbying Congress for the second day in a row for as much as $34 billion in loans and credit lines to get them through the crisis. That's more than the $25 billion in loans the government has offered to help them develop more fuel-efficient vehicles.

"I am concerned about the viability of the automobile companies," Bush said. "And, likewise, I am concerned about taxpayer money being provided to those companies that may not survive."

The president urged Congress to act on one proposal that would redirect the $25 billion in loans to address the automakers' needs, but he urged that assistance go only to companies that can survive.

"It is important that Congress act next week on this plan. And it's important to make sure that taxpayers' money be paid back if any is given to the companies," he said.

Bush also cautioned that it would take time for all the steps the administration has taken to have their full impact on the economy.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Tabassum Zakaria, editing by John Wallace)