Obama, vacationing on this upscale island off the coast from Boston, spoke with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, chief of staff William Daley, White House budget chief Jack Lew, and National Economic Council director Gene Sperling.

They discussed the "progress being made on the new jobs proposals and deficit reduction measures" being worked on for a major Obama jobs speech after the September 5 US Labor Day holiday, the White House said.

The president has said the speech will lay out a detailed package of steps that he wants Congress to take to help bring unemployment down from current levels pinned above 9 percent.

Obama's hopes for winning re-election next year hinge largely on his success in persuading Americans that his economic policies are working. But he must get any measures through a divided Congress, in which Republicans control the US House of Representatives and his fellow Democrats control the Senate.