US President-elect Barack Obama has said that his country, in the middle of an economic recession, is in a very difficult spot and the situation is getting worse.

Emerging from a meeting with his top economic advisors, Obama told reporters on Monday, "The message of our meeting today is one that comes as no surprise to most Americans, and that is we are in a very difficult spot. The economy is bad. The situation is getting worse."

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"It's clear that we have to act and we have to act now to address this crisis and break the momentum of the recession or the next few years could be dramatically worse," Obama said.

This is the message he delivered to the top Congressional leaders whom he met on Monday to discuss with them the issue and how to resolve it. Prominent among them were Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"The most important message today is that the situation is getting worse, we've got to act boldly, and we've got to act swiftly. We cannot delay," he argued.

Referring to his radio address over the weekend, Obama said, "This is not a Republican problem or a Democratic problem at this stage. This is an American problem, and we're all going to have to chip in and do the hard work that's required and what the American people expect of us."

With two million Americans having lost their job in the last one year and another 2.8 million who have moved from full time to part time and manufacturing at a 28-year low, Obama said the economic crisis has only grown deeper.

The President-elect said his team of economic advisors is working on an American recovery and reinvestment plan that would not only create jobs in the short term, but also spur economic growth and lay the foundation for a sustained competitiveness in the global economy.

"We are beginning to share details of that plan with leadership on the (Capitol) Hill. And we will be rolling this out to the people, assuring that there is clarity and transparency about the entire process," he said.

During the meeting he and his team also discussed the tough choices that need to be made to restore fiscal responsibility, so as the economy recovers, and deficit could be brought down, Obama said.

"As I said earlier, right now, the most important task for us is to stabilise the patient. The economy is badly damaged; it is very sick. And so we have to take whatever is -- steps are required to make sure that it is stabilised," he said.

"But we also have to recognise that if we're going to grow this economy over the long term, if we're going to create a better future for our children and our grandchildren, then we can't be fiscally irresponsible about how we do it," he said.