The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says the global economic recovery has come close to a halt and is likely to stagnate for the rest of the year.

The 34-member organization, which includes the United States, Japan, Germany and other top world economies, unveiled an interim economic assessment Thursday in Paris.

The organization’s Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan, who prepared the report, said that in the first half of the year, the economic growth was weaker than expected in many countries, including the United States and the European countries using the common currency, the euro.

Unemployment has remained high and some countries face the risk of the problem becoming entrenched.

The OECD says the turbulence in stock markets, linked to the sovereign debt problems in the United States and Europe, has undermined consumer and business confidence. As a result, residential construction, business investment and consumption of durables are low. The uncertainty is likely to hamper growth in the second half of the year.

The assessment recommends a list of measures to prevent further stagnation, such as implementing structural reforms to stimulate growth, maintaining low interest rates over an extended period, keeping inflation low and intervening to close the trade balance gaps.