Wilbur Ross said economic recovery won't happen until well into 2010 because consumers are saving money instead of spending it.

“Every dollar put into savings is good long-term, Ross told CNBC. “But it’s horrible for the economy near-term.”

Consumers, Ross said, used to make up nearly 70 percent of the economy.

“Take six percent (of that) away and put it into savings, that’s around a four percent hit to the economy … even forgetting the multiplier effect,” he said. “That’s a lot to overcome.”

If the savings rates goes higher, Ross said, the situation could rapidly become even more perilous because the only factor that would offset reduced consumer spending is increased spending by government.

“The housing market certainly hasn't stopped going down,” Ross said. “And to me, the $6 trillion destruction in people's net worth, in and of itself, is a big deterrent to spending.”

“What worries me … is that we’re going to be headed like France, except without the wine and fashion,” he said.

Confidence among U.S. consumers slipped unexpectedly in June, reflecting a weak labor market and rising energy costs.

“Consumers are feeling the heat this summer from rising gasoline prices to seized-up labor markets,” Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at Horizon Investments, told Bloomberg. “(That) could keep third-quarter consumer spending muted,” slowing an economic recovery.