Obama links job growth to health care proposal

WASHINGTON: As the unemployment rate climbs, President Barack Obama is trying to make the case that his health care overall would create jobs by making small business startups more affordable.

Dismissive Republicans blamed the continuing job losses on Democratic policies and said the president's health proposals won't help. In his weekly radio and Internet video address today, Obama linked one of his biggest challenges - joblessness, with passage of far-reaching changes to the US health care system.

If aspiring entrepreneurs believe they can stay insured while switching jobs, Obama said, they will start new businesses and hire workers. The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 per cent in September, the highest since June 1983, as employers cut far more jobs than expected.

All told, 15.1 million people are now out of work, the Labour Department said, and 7.2 million jobs have been eliminated since the recession began in December 2007.

Obama said he has met people "who've got a good idea and the expertise and determination to build it into a thriving business. But many can't take that leap because they can't afford to lose the health insurance they have at their current job."