Bernanke says the recession is likely over -- but it won't feel like it

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the Great Recession has "very likely" ended -- and as the most famous student of the Great Depression, one would presume that he should know.

Unfortunately, Bernanke also raised the specter of the so-called jobless recovery, warning that growth may be too tepid to cut the unemployment rate significantly anytime soon.

"Even though from a technical perspective the recession is very likely over at this point, it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time," Bernanke said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg reported.