Create jobs through infrastructure projects: President Obama

President Barack Obama says the current economy demands an extension of the payroll tax holiday and a bipartisan infrastructure bill that will put millions of construction workers back to work after losing their jobs in the wake of the housing bust. The President made those statements at a White House presser after the Labor Department released an abysmal jobs report for June. Only 18,000 jobs were created last month, causing housing economists to lower already modest economic forecasts for the second half of 2011. Obama noted that construction workers employed during the housing boom are among those looking for jobs. In his prepared comments, he said an infrastructure bill could help private companies rebuild America’s roads, bridges and railways. The President also called for a patent reform bill that would give entrepreneurs an opportunity to move their ideas through a faster patent process. President Obama also pressed Congress to pass pending trade agreements with Asia and South American countries. Write to Kerri Panchuk.