White House economic advisor Alan Krueger to step down

WASHINGTON -- One of President Obama’s top economic advisors, Alan Krueger, will step down this fall and White House aide Jason Furman will be nominated as his replacement, a Democratic official said Tuesday.

Krueger plans to return to teaching at Princeton, where he is on leave from his position as an economics professor, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the departure had not been officially announced.

A labor market expert and former Treasury official, Krueger has chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisors since November 2011.

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He took over for economist Austan Goolsbee, who left the position to return to the University of Chicago.

Obama will nominate Furman, principal deputy director of the White House National Economic Council since 2009, to replace Krueger. The position requires Senate confirmation.

The Council of Economic Advisors offers the president economic advice. It generally has been secondary to the National Economic Council, which also provides advice but coordinates policy as well.

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