The U.S. economy is on increasingly unsteady footing, hurt by stubbornly high unemployment and volatile oil prices, the head of General Motors Co told reporters on Tuesday.

We are tied to the economy, so I am concerned about it, said Daniel Akerson, who has served as chief executive of the largest U.S. automaker since September 2010.

Ahead of the company's first meeting with shareholders since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009, Akerson said the company wants to grow profitably and will not price vehicles to gain market share at the cost of profit margins.

He also said the United States must address the issue of its rising federal deficit, and that it would shake global debt markets if the country were to default on its obligations.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman, additional reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)