The U.S. economy should start growing by the end of this year and unemployment, expected to peak at around 9 percent, will begin to decline in 2010, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Tuesday.

I think the U.S. economy will certainly begin to grow by the end of this year. I think the unemployment rate will begin to decline sometime in 2010, though I think it's going to take some time.

Evans also said the Fed would have been better off if it had started tightening policy faster than it did earlier this decade and regulations would be looked at very closely once the crisis is over.

(Reporting by Michael Winfrey; Editing by Victoria Main)

Unemployment