Obama pushes on job creation, amid din over Egypt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House released a strategy to promote U.S. innovation on Friday, keeping its focus on the politically important jobs issue as the Labor Department issued a mixed unemployment report. Although turmoil in Egypt has been consuming the Obama administration's attention, a relatively high U.S. jobless rate remains a primary concern for U.S. voters, and the White House needs to convince them the president is keeping his eye on the economy. Obama traveled to Pennsylvania on Thursday to announce a new plan to promote energy efficiency in commercial buildings and he travels to Michigan next Thursday to talk about his plan to extend wireless access. [ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ] The "Strategy for American Innovation" announced on Friday includes initiatives such as a plan to help businesses reach 98 percent of Americans with high-speed wireless access within five years, a program to improve the U.S. patent system and a commitment to clean energy. "We want to see these things deployed so they are creating jobs now going forward," Gene Sperling, President Barack Obama's new top economic adviser, told a White House news briefing. The Labor Department said on Friday that U.S. employment rose by only 36,000 jobs in January, far fewer than economists had expected, amid a bout of unusually harsh winter weather. But the unemployment rate fell to its lower level since April 2009, reaching 9.0 percent, from 9.4 percent in December. Economists agreed the numbers showed a job market recovery was proceeding, if not gaining speed. Administration officials said the overall trend is encouraging although the jobless rate remains too high. Obama's Republican opponents quickly pointed to the report as evidence that Obama's spending programs have not led to job growth and his efforts to tighten regulation of businesses are discouraging companies from hiring. "Instead of more 'stimulus' spending and more debt ... we need less spending, more freedom and more certainty for those in America who create jobs," John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, said after the unemployment report. (Editing by Todd Eastham)