The head of the US Federal Reserve says the country's economic recovery will remain weak because of high unemployment and tight bank credit.

"We are seeing early evidence of that recovery, most forecasters anticipate another moderate gain in the fourth quarter," but "how the economy will evolve in 2010 and beyond is less certain," Ben Bernanke said Monday at the Economic Club of New York.

The latest US Labor Department report showed jobless rate reached 10.2% in October, the first time it has been in the double digits in 26 years.

"The best thing we can say about the labor market right now is that it may be getting worse more slowly," Bernanke said, adding that he didn't hold out much immediate hope for an immediate turnaround.

"The unemployment rate likely will decline only slowly if economic growth remains moderate, as I expect," he said.

He promised to keep interest rates low for an extended period to support the weak recovery.

Bernanke predicted that there will not be any considerable change in the jobless rate next year as the US job growth will be so little.

MVZ/SC/DT