Obama to hold conference on battling unemployment

By Alister Bull

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would host a December conference to brainstorm how to beat back double-digit unemployment, and repeated a pledge to fight for U.S. exports as he toured Asia next week.

"We have an obligation to consider every additional responsible step that we can to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country," Obama told reporters before departing for Japan, the first stop on his trip.

With unemployment at 10.2 percent in October, a 26-1/2 year high, Obama faces pressure to take action. However, an administration official said the president was not weighing a second stimulus package, on top of a $787 billion emergency government spending bill signed earlier this year.

"It's important that we don't make any ill-considered decisions -- even with the best intentions -- particularly at a time when our resources are so limited," Obama said.

The December jobs forum will gather chief executives, small business owners, academics, economists, and representatives from the labor and nonprofit world to discuss how to spur economic growth and create jobs, Obama said.

A senior White House aide said after the president's remarks that the gathering would not be a discussion about a second stimulus package, but rather a continuation of other efforts to get the economy moving.

Hosting the event may reflect a desire to be seen doing something to perk up the economy -- a critical issue for voters before the 2010 congressional election -- at a time when, as Obama said, millions of Americans are "desperately searching for jobs."

Former President Bill Clinton held a similar event in Little Rock, Arkansas, weeks after he was elected president in 1992, to demonstrate his focus on the economy.