WASHINGTON, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - Despite the recent positive signs, U.S. economy is still in a "severe distress", a top White House economic adviser said on Wednesday.

"Though conditions could have been far worse given the shocks we have endured, it is still the case that the economy is in severe distress," Christina Romer, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in a speech to the National Economists Club.

"To put it bluntly, in the year following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the American economy, and American workers in particular, have been through hell," she went on.

She said that unemployment level in September has risen to 9.8%, and is expected to grow further. To decrease the unemployment rate, real GDP growth would likely need to exceed the normal trend of 2.5%.

She said the government's response to the crisis has been "fast, bold and effective."

In her prepared remarks, Romer also pushed for the Obama administration's financial regulatory reform proposals, which include the extension of powers for the Federal Reserve and the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.