国际英语新闻：Obama says strong economic growth a "stark improvement"

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday the better-then-expected 5.7 percent economic growth in the fourth quarter showed a "stark improvement" compared to economic decline a year ago.

"This morning we received a report that affirms our progress and the swift and aggressive actions that made it possible," said the president in a speech delivered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Obama said his administration has "stopped the flood of job losses," and vowed to take more actions help the millions of people still out of work.

He also said that he is seeking support from Congress to provide tax breaks for small businesses that hire additional workers.

The U.S. economy increased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the quickest pace in more than six years, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

The acceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from private inventory investment, exports, and personal consumption expenditures (PCE), said the department while releasing the report.

The 5.7 percent increase in the fourth quarter, the best showing since 2003, was also much more energetic than the 4.6 percent increase that economists had expected.

In the third quarter of 2009, real GDP expanded at 2.2 percent. The two straight quarters of growth last year followed a record four quarters of economic decline.