AFP - President Barack Obama on Thursday announced a jobs forum to be held at the White House in December, as the United States struggles with a 10.2 percent unemployment rate.

"In December, we'll be holding a forum at the White House on jobs and economic growth," Obama said before departing on a trip to Asia.

"We'll gather CEOs and small business owners, economists and financial experts, as well as representatives from labor unions and non-profit groups to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again.

"As I've said from the start of this crisis, hiring often takes time to catch up to economic growth. And given the magnitude of the economic turmoil that we've experienced, employers are reluctant to hire," Obama said.

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

"But it's just as important that we are open to any demonstrably good idea to supplement the steps we've already taken to put America back to work. That's what this forum is about."

According to data released earlier this month, US unemployment jumped to double digits in October for the first time since 1983, prompting renewed talk of additional government stimulus for an economy struggling to emerge from recession.

Obama called the jobless numbers "sobering" and said his administration was considering "further steps" to spark job growth.

In the President's comments to reporters before leaving Thursday for a trip to include talks with leaders and financial experts in Japan and China, Obama said he would discuss global partnership strategies.

"In the coming days, I'll also be meeting with leaders abroad to discuss a strategy for growth that is both balanced and broadly shared," Obama said.

"It's a strategy in which Asian and Pacific markets are open to our exports and one in which prosperity around the world is no longer as dependent on American consumption and borrowing, but rather more on American innovation and products.

"It's through these steps with our partners, in addition to the work we're doing here at home, that we will not only revive our economy in the short-term, but rebuild it stronger in the long-term."

Official data showed Thursday that initial claims for US jobless insurance benefits fell for a second straight week, suggesting modest improvement in the troubled labor market.

The seasonally adjusted number of new unemployment claims in the week ending November 7 fell to 502,000, a drop of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 514,000, the Labor Department said.

The fresh data was better than the figure expected by most analysts of around 510,000.