Former Fed chief Greenspan says jobless rate likely to pass 10 percent, stay there a while

Greenspan: Jobless rate likely to pass 10 percent

WASHINGTON — Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan predicts that the unemployment rate will push past 10 percent and stay at that level for a while.

“Pretty awful” is how Greenspan describes Friday’s report that the unemployment rate has risen to 9.8 percent.

He says the growing number of Americans who have been out of work six months or longer is of particular concern because jobless workers lose skills over such a long period.

Greenspan says he would advise President Barack Obama to focus on getting the economy going, but not to go too far. He says a second economic stimulus is not called for because less than half of the current stimulus is in effect and because the nature of the recovery is not yet clear.

Greenspan spoke Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”