Barack Obama vows to move swiftly on economy

Chicago: US President-elect Barack Obama vowed on Friday that he would "confront the economic crisis head-on" immediately after taking office.

In his first press conference after winning the elections, Obama said there was a need to come up with a rescue plan for the middle class following the global crisis.

The plan should "focus on jobs", and include an extension of jobless benefits, he said.

The United States is facing the "greatest economic challenge of our lifetime" and Obama said that a fiscal stimulus plan is long overdue.

Obama's remarks came after he met a 17-member transition economic advisory board to decide how to implement promised measures and deal with the US financial crisis.

Also on Friday, the government reported that the US unemployment rate has increased to 6.5 per cent from 6.1 per cent in September, its highest since 1994.

Job losses in October were worse than feared, with employers cutting payrolls by 240,000, according to the Labour Department.

Obama faces immediate pressure to establish the direction of his economic and fiscal policy before he is sworn into office in January.