87765654By Karen Axelton

Job creation is a hot topic right now. Labor Department stats released last week were unexpectedly positive; just 11,000 jobs were lost in November, about 100,000 fewer than experts had been predicting.

Still, the nation has a long way to go. Last week, President Obama held a jobs summit, conferring with business and other leaders to brainstorm ideas for job creation. Friday, he kicked off a “Main Street” tour of the country to get ideas from Americans on what can be done to stimulate job creation. And Wednesday, he made a speech announcing his proposals for job creation, including eliminating capital gains tax for certain investors in small businesses, tax breaks for small businesses, infrastructure spending and clean energy projects.

But there is still a need for more ideas—and where better for them to come from than small businesses? That’s why Business.gov is encouraging entrepreneurs to host their own jobs forums and brainstorm ideas for job creation with others. The forums, running through January 7th, will gather neighbors, co-workers and friends to get insights and ideas that hosts can upload to WhiteHouse.gov. The discussions will be compiled into a report that President Obama will review.

If you are interested in hosting a jobs forum in your area, go to WhiteHouse.gov to fill our a form. You’ll receive discussion questions, information and other materials to make your event as productive as possible.