National economist at Madison conference forecasts slow economic recovery

Even as the recession recedes, most parts of the country are still seeing a “slow recovery out of a large hole,” according to a national economic expert at a housing conference Friday at UW-Madison. A quicker, stronger bounceback is unlikely, said David Altig, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Thatâ??s because the recovery remains restrained by high unemployment, nervous retailers, only modest growth in construction and other industries and household wealth still way below pre-recession levels.”We have a long, long way to go,” Altig said. “Slow and steady goes the race.”