US President Barack Obama has declined to predict how high unemployment in the US will climb. But he has made it clear he expects it to keep worsening for a while as hiring lags behind other signs of economic recovery.

After meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, US President Barack Obama spoke to reporters in the Oval Office.

Barack Obama, US President, said, "How employment numbers are going to respond is not yet clear. My expectation is that we will probably continue to see unemployment tick up for several months."

He said his administration is aware that the most important factor is whether people are able to get good-paying jobs.

More than 2 million jobs have been lost since Congress passed Obama's 787 billion dollar economic stimulus package.

The White House has been criticized for being overly positive about employment projections.

Just 10 days before taking office, Obama's top economic advisers released a report predicting unemployment would remain at 8 percent or below this year if an economic stimulus plan won congressional approval.

Instead, it is headed toward double digits.

(CCTV July 15, 2009)