Meena Thiruvengadam Of Dow Jones Newswires

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Saturday vowed that the U.S. wouldn't scale back economic stimulus efforts too quickly, saying returning to an environment of strong growth remains a priority.

"If we put the brakes on too quickly, we will weaken the economy and the financial system, unemployment will rise, more businesses will fail, budget deficits will rise, and the ultimate cost of the crisis will be greater," Geithner said in a statement issued after a meeting of Group of 20 leading economies' finance ministers and central bank governors.

Geithner said sustained growth will be required in order to pull down unemployment rates. A report released Friday showed the U.S. unemployment rate has jumped to 10.2%.

Geithner in his statement also said G20 economic leaders have made progress at the weekend's meeting.

-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6629; meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-07-09 1058ET