US President Barack Obama has delivered a high-stakes speech on his plans to boost the country's employment.

In Thursday's speech, Obama laid out a 447-billion-dollar jobs package of tax cuts and government spending. With 9.1 percent unemployment in the country, Obama said the United States is in a "national crisis".

The proposal includes extending unemployment insurance at a cost of 49 billion dollars, modernizing schools for 30 billion dollars and investing in transportation infrastructure projects for 50 billion dollars. But the bulk of his proposal was made up of 240 billion dollars in tax relief by cutting payroll taxes for employees in half next year, and trimming employer payroll taxes as well. Obama wants Congress to pass the "American Jobs Act" by the end of this year and offset the cost with deficit cuts.

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