Senior White House economic aide resigns

Top White House economist Austan Goolsbee has announced he is stepping down, marking the exit of one of President Barack Obama's closest aides at a time when new signs of weakness have emerged in the US economy.


White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Austan Goolsbee Photo: REUTERS


7:00AM BST 07 Jun 2011

Less than a year after he was named chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Mr Goolsbee plans to return to his teaching job at the University of Chicago, the Obama administration said in a statement.


His departure leaves Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as the sole remaining senior member of the original economic team.


Mr Goolsbee and Mr Obama got to know each other at the University of Chicago, where the president had been a lecturer in constitutional law. He advised Mr Obama's campaign for the US Senate in 2004 and his 2008 presidential campaign.


Mr Goolsbee has been one of the administration's more visible spokesmen on the economy and lately has emphasised his view that the recovery remains solidly on track, despite a report on Friday showing tepid jobs growth and a rise in the unemployment rate in May to 9.1 per cent from 9 per cent in April.


"He has helped steer our country out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and although there is still much work ahead, his insights and counsel have helped lead us toward an economy that is growing and creating millions of jobs," Mr Obama said in a statement.


In addition to the jobs report, other data including reports on housing and manufacturing have suggested the recovery was losing momentum.

At the beginning of this year, Mr Goolsbee warned that a failure by the US Congress to raise the nation's borrowing limit could be "catastrophic" for the economy, a line the White House has repeated in the months since then as it negotiates with Republicans over legislation to lift the debt ceiling.


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