President Barack Obama will convene a White House summit early next month to explore ways to reverse the soaring unemployment rate -- and there won't be any shortage of ideas. Economists and lawmakers hope that such proposals as tax breaks for companies that add workers, tax cuts for small businesses and more government highway construction will receive renewed attention following Obama's call Thursday for new ways to reverse job losses. But the administration and its allies in Congress are facing another shortage -- time. Economic and political concerns are accelerating after the unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent last month, reaching double digits for the first time in 26 years. With congressional mid-term elections looming next year and thousands more jobs being lost each week, Washington must act quickly to put new programs in place. Addressing those worries before departing for Asia on Thursday, Obama said he was open to 'any demonstrably good idea' to stimulate job creation. 'We all know that there are limits to what government can and should do, even during such difficult times,' he said, alluding to the concerns about the soaring budget deficit. 'But we have an obligation to consider every additional, responsible step that we can to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country.' Obama said he would gather chief executives, small-business owners, economists, labor leaders and others to discuss ways to create jobs and grow the economy. The move comes as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told colleagues this week he planned to push a job-creation bill in the coming weeks, as soon as the Senate finishes debating and voting on health care legislation. The unemployment rate has continued to climb even as the nation's gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services, is growing robustly again. So reducing the rate is a 'critical imperative,' said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. 'The recovery for the American family is not measured in GDP,' he said. 'It's measured in jobs.' Reed has been pushing legislation to expand work-share programs, which exist in 17 states. The initiatives entice companies to cut workers' hours instead of laying them off, using a percentage of the unemployment benefits the workers would have claimed to make up the difference in wages. It's one of several ideas floating around Washington in recent months to address unemployment directly. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., is drafting a bill to provide a job-creation tax credit, based on a proposal by the Economic Policy Institute think tank. Lawmakers from steel-producing states have pressed for accelerated passage of a new multi-year transportation bill to build highways and other projects. And House Republican leaders continue to push for a package of tax cuts, including one that would allow small businesses to deduct up to 20 percent of their income to free up money to hire workers. 'What we need to do is to lower the price of risk to increase the confidence of those investors and small business people who are going to be the job creators,' said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, a leading House Republican, adding that mandates in the pending Democratic health care legislation are alarming business owners. 'We also have to address the very real sense that small businesses are very nervous about committing capital right now.' Obama noted Thursday that the economy is improving -- expanding at an annualized rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter after a year of contraction -- and that job growth typically does not return immediately. The pace of job loss has slowed considerably since January. And the Labor Department reported Thursday that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 to 502,000 last week, the lowest weekly total since January. 'Given the magnitude of the economic turmoil that we've experienced, employers are reluctant to hire,' Obama said. 'Meanwhile, millions of Americans -- our friends, our neighbors, our family members -- are desperately searching for jobs. This is one of the great challenges that remains in our economy, a challenge that my administration is absolutely determined to meet.' (Begin optional trim) Feingold said he and his colleagues are discussing ways to help create jobs. 'We all know that the health care bill is before us, but the jobs issue is at least as important,' he said. He is advocating a two-year tax credit for businesses that hire new workers or add hours for existing employees. Employers told him that such a measure would help 'tip the balance' in favor of additional hires, Feingold said. The Economic Policy Institute estimated the credit, which would refund 15 percent of the cost of new wages next year and 10 percent in 2011, could create 5.1 million new jobs. But short-term policies like that don't address the larger problem. The economy needs to grow at a much higher rate than 3.5 percent to create the millions of jobs needed to offset the losses suffered during the recession, said Martin Regalia, chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 'What everybody is hoping for is some sort of a panacea, and I don't think there's one out there,' said Regalia, whose organization is holding its own forum next week on the role of government in creating jobs. (End optional trim) Administration officials and Democratic lawmakers are increasingly concerned as the unemployment rate grows as they head into mid-term elections next year. Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey were defeated in elections last week amid voter concern about the economy, though Democrats won special House elections in California and New York. 'I don't think there's any question the voters are outraged at the seeming lack of concern on the part of the administration and the (Democratic congressional) majority about joblessness,' Cantor said. 