BERLIN German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, facing growing pressure over the nation's economic state of affairs, lowered his growth projections to between 1.5 to 2.0 percent for this year but dismissed reforms in his tight-budget policies to stimulate the slumping economy, the weekly *** Stern *** reported Wednesday.

Schroeder admitted for the first time that German economic growth would not reach earlier projections of 2 percent but would hover between 1.5 and 2 percent.

"For this year we will have a growth rate between 1.5 and 2 percent although we have still the chance of reaching 2 percent," said the chancellor.

Several leading economic institutes have predicted a growth rate between 1.0 and 1.5 percent for this year.

Schroeder also conceded he will likely fail to cut unemployment to under 3.5 million by election time next year.

"The jobless rate is not going down, the way we had expected ...," he added.

Jobless figures jumped to 9.2 percent or 3.79 million unemployed, up from 8.9 percent in unadjusted terms in July, the Labor Department announced on Tuesday.

Schroeder however soundly rejected radical proposals to stimulate the econommy such as state spending programs.

"To all of those who want to push a new economic stimulation program uopn us I say: You just want us to start piling up debts the way you used to do," the chancellor added, referring to massive state debts run up by the conservative Kohl administration in the 1990s.

"Not with me - I won't finance a single program which then places a burden on our children and grandchildren," he added.

Schroeder pointed out that a slumping global economy has further worsened the economic situation in Germany.