WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama assured the nation his recovery plan was on track on Monday, scrambling to calm Americans unnerved by unemployment rates still persistently rising nearly four months after he signed the biggest economic stimulus in history.

Mr Obama admitted his own dissatisfaction with the progress but said his administration would step up stimulus spending in the coming months.

The White House acknowledged it has spent only US$44 billion (S$64 billion), or 5 per cent, of the $787 billion stimulus, but that total has always been expected to rise sharply during the mid-year period.

He also repeated an earlier promise to create or save 600,000 jobs by late this year.

Neither the acceleration nor the jobs goal are new. Both represent a White House repackaging of promises and projects to blunt criticism that the effects have not been worth the historic price tag. Also, the job estimate is so murky, it can never be verified.

The economy has shed 1.6 million jobs since the stimulus measure was signed in February, far overshadowing White House announcements estimating the effort has saved 150,000 jobs. Public opinion of Mr Obama's handling of the economy has declined along with the jobs data.

For the first time, the administration admitted the economic forecasts it used to sell the stimulus were overly optimistic.

Some analysts believe the White House still is not being realistic, that Mr Obama will be lucky if any real job creation from his recovery effort is seen by the end of the year, let alone the employment explosion he predicts.

Mr Obama spoke on Monday about 'modest progress' in the economy, citing fewer jobs lost last month than expected. He said he hopes to build on that in the months ahead with stimulus programmes. -- AP