Obama said he would outline a new package of stimulus measures next week, after a keenly awaited Labour Department report showed the economy lost 54,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.6 percent.

Although the job losses were much better than the 120,000 slump expected by Wall Street economists, hiring was not substantial enough to return millions of crisis-hit Americans to work.

In a bid to make good on that promise Obama pressed Republican foes to stop blocking tax cuts for small businesses and hinted at a new package of measures, which are rumoured to include an income tax holiday and a permanent extension of the research and development tax credit.

The president is expected to tout the new policies in a heavy slate of economy-themed events next week, including travel to the hard-hit Midwest and in a major press conference next Friday.

But with many lawmakers fretting ahead of November’s mid-term elections and public concern mounting over the forecast US$1.4 trillion budget deficit, Obama faces stiff political opposition to his plans.