Obama to unveil crucial jobs plan

President Barack Obama will outline his eagerly awaited jobs plan later in an effort to boost the flagging US economy - and his re-election hopes.

In a rare address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama is expected to outline a $300bn (£185bn) package.

The main elements are tipped to be an extension of payroll tax cuts, and tax incentives for businesses to hire.

US unemployment, currently jammed at 9.1%, is expected to dominate the 2012 presidential election campaign.

Mr Obama will use his nationally televised speech at 19:00 EDT (23:00 GMT) to urge the passage of an American Jobs Act, which will be submitted to Congress next week.
Bipartisan backing?

Unexpectedly weak employment data, with no new jobs added in August, has heightened fears that the US may be heading for another recession.

White House chief of staff Bill Daley appeared on three US morning shows on Thursday, promising that Mr Obama's speech would be full of ideas with bipartisan appeal.

"The only reason some of these people may not support it now is because of the politics that's going on, which is again unfortunate for the American people," Mr Daley said.

Mr Obama is expected to outline how to pay for the jobs-creation package without raising the nation's spiralling debt in the long term.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor have signalled that any proposals from Mr Obama on infrastructure spending could be a point of agreement.
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There are not high expectations, but I have a feeling the speech could be a pivot point for those who want more from their president”

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image of Mark Mardell Mark Mardell BBC North America editor

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Before the speech, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed his support for a government-led stimulus package if the private sector fails to spark demand.

Conceding that the recession had been longer and deeper than expected, ge added that the Federal Reserve would do "all it can to help restore high rates of growth and employment", although he did not outline any specific measures.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday: "It's time the president starts thinking less about how to describe his policies differently and more time thinking about devising new policies."

Some congressional Republicans were expected to avoid attending Mr Obama's address.

Correspondents say that if Republicans reject the plan, the White House will seek to portray them as economic obstructionists.

After the summer's bitter partisan warfare over the country's debt levels, which prompted a historic US government credit downgrade, the president's approval numbers are sagging badly, though poll ratings for Congress have been even lower.

Mr Obama's plan is expected to propose extending programmes scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

These include unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work for over a year and a lower payroll tax on earnings.

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Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke admits the US recession was deeper than expected

The package will also make proposals on unemployment insurance, spending to support construction jobs, and state aid to keep people in their jobs, say US media.

Mr Obama is expected to cover the costs by asking a new congressional supercommittee to go beyond its target of finding up to $1.5 trillion (£927bn) of deficit savings by November.

The debt panel, made up of members of both the House and Senate, met for the first time on Thursday.

On Wednesday, a Pew Research Center poll found a majority of voters were sceptical that Mr Obama's proposals would create jobs.

His much anticipated speech was part of a political dispute last week when the White House initially scheduled it for Wednesday night.

But that clashed with a televised Republican debate and amid a chorus of objections from that party, the address was rescheduled.