WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. recession remained "alive and acute" despite the economy recording its strongest growth in two years, said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday.

    "Unemployment remains unacceptably high for every person out of work. For every family facing foreclosure, for every small business facing a credit crunch, the recession remains alive and acute," Geithner said in testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.

    The Commerce Department reported Thursday that its first estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter showed growth at a seasonally adjusted 3.5 percent from the prior quarter.

    The GDP increase ended four consecutive quarterly contractions and was the strongest expansion since the third quarter in 2008, when a US subprime mortgage crisis triggered a global financial crisis that dragged the world economy into the worst recession since 1930s.

    The latest unemployment rate stands at 9.8 percent with expectations that it will reach 10 percent in the near future.

    "After four consecutive quarters of decline, positive GDP growth is an encouraging sign that the U.S. economy is moving in the right direction. However, this welcome milestone is just another step, and we still have a long road to travel until the economy is fully recovered," the White House said in a statement after the release of the third quarter GDP figure.