CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is in the early stages of recovery but it will be a while before growth starts to bring down unemployment, a top Federal Reserve official said on Wednesday.

"My forecast envisions a return to positive but subdued gross domestic product growth over the medium term weighed down by significant adjustments to our economy," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said in prepared remarks.

"My forecast for a slow recovery implies a protracted period of high unemployment," Lockhart, a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee this year, told the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce in a luncheon speech. (Reporting by Alister Bull; editing by Neil Stempleman)