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President Obama has for months said that rebuilding the economy and creating jobs is his "most urgent task." And, today, despite sagging public confidence in his abilities, he told a spirited crowd of union supporters in Milwaukee that he'll "keep fighting every single day to turn this economy around."

Obama used the Labor Day event to unveil a new six-year, $50 billion plan to create jobs by improving and expanding 150,000 miles of the nation's roads, 4,000 miles of railways and 150 miles of runways.

"We used to have the best infrastructure in the world and we can have it again," Obama said. "We want to change the way Washington spends your tax dollars; we want to reform the way we fund and maintain our infrastructure to focus less on wasteful earmarks and outdated formulas, and we want competition and innovation that gives us the best bang for the buck."

Obama said the plan would be "fully paid for" and would not add to the deficit, although senior administration officials haven't released details on the financing other than to suggest it could come from closing tax loopholes used by oil and gas companies.

Obama also promised that "all of this will not only create jobs now, it also will make our economy hum over the long haul."

Officials acknowledged, however, that the first jobs wouldn't be created until 2011.

Still, many economists believe the infrastructure projects Obama proposed today and other initiatives he's expected to announce later this week could hasten job growth the economy needs in the months ahead.

"At this point, it's not my ideal strategy," economist Paul Krugman said. "But I think if [Obama] can get a payroll tax holiday that's really largely, on paper, a tax cut for businesses, a lot of the benefit would flow to workers and be a reason to employ more people. So, I'll take it."

But it's unclear whether Congress will consider and pass the measures before the November elections or whether voters would notice their effects before they head to the polls. The latest round of proposed economic fixes comes after the Labor Department reported last week that the economy shed 54,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate ticked upward to 9.6 percent.

But private sector businesses did continue to add jobs for the eighth consecutive month, a sign, the White House says, that the economy is bouncing back.

Many economists believe additional stimulus measures, such as those Obama is proposing, could hasten the job growth the economy needs in the months ahead.

"At this point, it's not my ideal strategy," said the economist Paul Krugman. "But I think if [Obama] can get a payroll tax holiday that's really largely, on paper, a tax cut for businesses, a lot of the benefit would flow to workers and be a reason to employ more people. So, I'll take it."

Still, its unclear whether Congress will consider and pass the measures before the November elections or whether their effects would be felt by voters before they head to the polls. White House officials have acknowledged the first jobs created under the infrastructure plan wouldn't come until 2011.

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