Wharton professor and author Jeremy Siegel says that the U.S. recession is over and that it’s a good time for investors to be putting money in the stock market — but also says that it will take some time before the nation’s unemployment rate comes down significantly.

“We are on the mend. I don’t think another shoe is going to drop,” Siegel said in an interview, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. He says the economy bottomed in July or August and is in recovery mode, largely because of the Federal Reserve’s actions to stabilize the U.S.’s banks.

Siegel is particularly high on stocks paying high dividends, the Journal reports. He suggests investing in exchange-traded funds and international stocks. “Most of the world’s capital is outside the U.S.,” he said, adding that the market has undergone “enormous repair” in recent months. “People do not have to be afraid of opening their 401(k) statements; it’s better news now,” he said.

Unemployment figures will, however, remain high for some time, Siegel says. We could start to see some improvement in December or January, but it will take longer for a substantial decrease, he predicts. Part of that is due to the fact that, early in recoveries, unemployed people who have given up their search for jobs start looking again.