White House advisers said on Tuesday that a foundation for U.S. economic recovery was being laid, but it will be a slow process.

We have a long way to go, White House economic adviser Larry Summers told a conference on social security at the National Press Club after citing some improvement in the form of a narrowing in credit spreads and other signs of improved financial activity.

The problems were not created in a week or a month or a year and they will not be resolved in a week or a month or a year, he said.

(Reporting by Emily Kaiser and Glenn Somerville)