Work still needed to repair economic damage: Obama

US President Barack Obama admitted Thursday the progress he had wrought in turning around the economy was not yet sufficient to repair the "enormous damage" of the worst recession in decades.

But Obama argued in Michigan, on his latest trip to highlight his stimulus plan, that his policies were working, and that the country was heading in the right direction ahead of crucial mid-term congressional elections in November.

"Yes, the progress we have made so far is not nearly enough to undo the enormous damage the recession caused," Obama said, at a groundbreaking ceremony for a plant that will make batteries for hybrid cars which was constructed with stimulus funds.

"As I said since the day I took office, it is going to take time to reverse the toll of the deepest downturn in generations and I won't be satisfied as long as even one person who needs a job can't find one.

"But what is absolutely clear is that we are headed in the right direction -- and that the surest way out of the storms we've been in is to keep moving forward, not to go backward," Obama said in a copy of his remarks released by the White House.

Obama travelled to Michigan with fears mounting among Democrats that they could lose control of the House of Representatives, and even the Senate in the mid-term polls, a scenario which could severely constrain Obama's power.

Recent opinion surveys have revealed fraying public support for Obama, and rising doubts about his economic management amid fears the rebound is slowing and with unemployment at 9.5 percent.