Bernanke sees 'loss of momentum' in jobs market

© AFP/Getty Images/File Scott Olson

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - After a slew of wretched economic news, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned there had been a "loss of momentum" in the already tepid US jobs market.

Two years into a slow and largely jobless recovery, Bernanke predicted employment and growth would eventually pick up, but that a recent soft-patch needed to be carefully monitored and that stimulative policies were still needed.

"Until we see a sustained period of stronger job creation, we cannot consider the recovery to be truly established," Bernanke told an audience in Atlanta, Georgia.