Obama steps up focus on jobs: Valerie Jarrett releases job forum report

WASHINGTON–President Obama visits Ohio on Friday as part of his throwing the spotlight on his administration job creation projects, with his plans expected to be highlighted in the Jan. 27 State of the Union address and his new budget. Meanwhile, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett released a report on a jobs forum at the White House in December.

In a note to the participants Jarrett wrote in an e-mail posted at whitehouse.gov, “As you can see, many of the ideas from the Forum informed his thinking, and some of them we have already put into action. You may also have heard that we broadened the efforts you initiated through Community Jobs Forums across the country involving more than 50 mayors, dozens of state legislators, and thousands of citizens – we’ll be completing the report based on their feedback in the coming weeks.

“Moving forward, we are planning to continue the conversation through the President’s Cabinet, who remain heavily involved in this effort. Over the coming weeks, Cabinet officials will be reaching out to participants to schedule follow-up calls or meetings on specific ideas. As you have in the past, we hope that you will find time in your schedules to stay involved, and please keep us informed of your own job creation efforts and stories,’

Obama has already led out the broad outlines of what is looking for in a jobs plan: more small business investment and access to credit so more workers can be hired: more money on big transportation infrastructure job-generating projects and creation of jobs through weatherization subsidies and grants to spur the “green” industry and employment.