President Barack Obama met with the Economic Recovery Advisory Board on Monday where they discussed unemployment. In an attempt to tame the high expectations of some Americans, Obama said job losses are likely to continue "for weeks and months to come" because hiring always lags behind in an economic recovery. "We just are not where we need to be yet" said Obama. "We've got a long way to go."

The timing of Obama's speech is not surprising. Unemployment hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September. It is not entirely unlikely that Friday's unemployment report will show unemployment topping 10 percent. But despite this other reports are suggesting the possibility of a recovery. There have been improvements in manufacturing, construction and contracts to buy houses.

According to Obama, building a sustainable economy and shrinking the unemployment numbers is his administration's "overriding focus."