NEW YORK: US President Barack Obama said the “tough decisions” he made to give almost $60 billion in aid to the US auto industry saved a million jobs and led to the strongest period of growth for automakers in a decade.

In his weekly address on the radio and the Internet, Obama said the help given to General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group have led to a “hopeful story” of economic recovery following the nation’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

“There’s no doubt that we have a long way to go and a lot of work to do before folks here and across the country can feel whole again,” he said in the address, recorded at a GM plant in Hamtramck, Michigan, on Friday. “But what’s important is that we’re finally beginning to see some of the tough decisions we made pay off.”

Meanwhile, analysts fear another recession in the United States loomed as the government reported slower growth in the second quarter and the International Monetary Fund said the country’s financial system remains fragile.

The US economy continued to grow during the second quarter with the gross domestic product (GDP) rising at a slower than expected 2.4 per cent annual rate during the three months ended June 30, the Commerce Department said.

Separately, reporting the results of stress tests, IMF said while the US banking system is stable, it remains vulnerable and banks subjected to additional economic stress might need as much as $76 billion in capital.

 The sluggish pace of US growth reported by the government was down from the upwardly revised 3.7 per cent growth rate in the first quarter, and missed economists’ forecast for a 2.5 per cent increase.

Obama is stepping up his defence of government aid to automakers as polls show voters haven’t been persuaded the spending was worthwhile. A poll conducted July 9-12 shows the federal assistance package to automobile companies is becoming less popular: 48 per cent say they became less supportive of it in recent months, while 17 per cent say they have become more supportive.