It will take some time for jobs to rebound in force from a “savage” recession, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told CNBC Wednesday.
“Recoveries of financial crises are harder, take longer,” said Geithner. “It’s going to take us a while to dig out of this.”
“This was a terribly savage recession and, because people were so scared about the consequences of the financial crisis, they savagely cut into payroll, into employment.
"You saw thousands of companies across the country not just shut their doors, but those that were able to stay open, cut their employment deeply, cut investment spending. And [that led to] the deep fear and loss of confidence. We are still living with the scars and the damage of that period.”
Geithner said that the recovery is moving forward and pointed to the growth over the past year as an indication of progress.
He said that the adminstration's initiatives are fiscally responsible. Those actions include the president’s new $50 billion infrastructure proposal and tax credits for small businesses, announced Wednesday in Cleveland, and plans to extend tax credits for the middle class, but not America’s wealthiest.
He added the public works bill and the small business incentives will promote job growth.
“If we are able to do these things over the next several months, it would help confidence,” said Geithner. “Americans would see Washington coming today and acting to do smart, sensible things and help reinforce investment, so that we get more Americans back to work.”