As experts debate the potential speed of the US recovery, one figure looms large but is often overlooked: nearly 1 in 5 Americans is out of work or under-employed.

Additional economic stimulus such as a payroll tax cut would boost hiring, Mike Jackson, the CEO of AutoNation, told CNBC on Thursday.

The Obama administration is promising to change the way it counts the number of jobs saved or created by the economic stimulus program, after the Government Accounting Office revealed measurement flaws in the current system.

Factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region grew in November for a fourth straight month, and faster than expected, a survey showed Thursday.

Federal Reserve officials on Thursday downplayed the consequences of the falling U.S. dollar, underscoring that deflation is still a threat, especially with commercial real estate prices falling.

On Thursday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will issue its bimonthly report on the Recovery Act, and the focus will be squarely on jobs, addressing the accuracy criticisms, while offering recommendations on how to improve the system of reporting. The GAO has determined that the overall number of jobs created or saved is not valid.

"Until you get the small business sector back on its feet and get it vibrant, you are basically knocking out about 20 percent of the GDP," said Camden Fine, president & CEO of Independent Community Bankers of America. "And it's hard to have a robust recovery if you have 20 percent of the GDP lagging."

A senior Federal Reserve official said sluggishness in pockets of the US economy should not deter the Fed from beginning to remove its extraordinary economic support.

The Federal Reserve may rely principally on a largely untested monetary policy tool when the time comes to raise borrowing costs.

Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in October, a smaller-than-expected increase that signals a bumpy recovery ahead.

U.S. producer prices rose more slowly than expected in October despite a rebound in food and energy costs, according to a government report on Tuesday that pointed to tame inflation pressures.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the U.S. economy would grow into next year and accommodative policies could not be maintained for too long.

The Fed's low interest rate policy has allowed investors to move into riskier assets in order to promote economic recovery, and there are no signs a U.S. asset bubble Building up for now, the central bank's number-two official said.

Policy-makers are watching the dollar closely even though its decline has not been disorderly to date, a top Federal Reserve official said on Monday.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Sunday it plans to split off its 83 percent stake in Mead Johnson Nutrition Company in a deal that lets Bristol shareholders exchange their shares for Mead Johnson common stock.